Netanyahu asks the Red Cross for help for hostages in Gaza

Netanyahu asks the Red Cross for help for hostages in Gaza

The Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has accused Hamas of not being interested in a ceasefire agreement. In addition, he asked the international red cross to provide food and medical help for the hostages recorded in Gaza after public outrage was triggered by propagandavideos that showed two heavily emaciated Israeli hostages.

protests in Tel Aviv

thousands of demonstrators took part in a rally in Tel Aviv on Saturday evening. Many held up posters with the inscriptions "End war" and "don't let anyone behind" and asked Netanyahu to close a deal that would free the Israeli hostages captured in Gaza.

reactions to the hostage videos

Videos published last week by the militant groups of Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, the hostages showed Evyatar David and Rome Braslavski in a visible, fragile state. These pictures led to a strong reaction both in Germany and internationally.

On Sunday, the International Red Cross (IKRK) in Israel and the occupied areas said that it was "horrified" about the videos and demanded that the "urgent situation had to come to an end". Several state leaders, including French President Emmanuel Macron, described the videos of the Israeli hostages as "unbearable". The German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said that the pictures showed that Hamas should not play a role in the future.

netanyahu appeals to the red cross

The Netanyahu office announced on Sunday that the Prime Minister spoke to Julien Lerisson, the head of the Rotkreuz delegation in the region, to ask "his participation in the immediate provision of food and medical care for hostages". Netanyahu again rejected the claim that hunger is hungry in the enclave, despite a warning of an un-supported nutritional organization that "the worst scenario of a famine in Gaza" unfolds.

Hamas' conditions for humanitarian aid

Hamas said that it was ready to "react positively to every request from the Red Cross to deliver food and medication to the hostages", but only on the condition that humanitarian corridors are opened in Gaza. The terrorist group claims that the condition of the hostages is a reflection of the deteriorating conditions in the strip.

According to the WEL Health Organization (WHO), the deaths caused by malnutrition in Gaza in July have risen sharply, another sign of an intensifying hunger crisis. The organization reported that the malnutrition rate in the enclave has reached "alarming values", with over 5000 children under five years of age being treated outpatient in the first two weeks of July due to malnutrition.

resistance to warfare

While the conflict lasts in Gaza, Israel is facing increasing resistance from the public, whose frustration is growing over the fate of the remaining hostages. According to surveys by the Israel Democracy Institute, over 70 % of Israelis supported the negotiations with Hamas for an end to the fights and an Israeli retreat from Gaza in exchange for the release of the remaining hostages.

The families of the hostages repeatedly ask Netanyahu to complete a deal and warn that the help of the Red Cross alone will not be sufficient and that a further escalation of the fights in Gaza could endanger the life of the remaining hostages.

Hamas' opinion and willingness to negotiate

Hamas publicly emphasizes that it is still willing to negotiate hostages - but only if the conditions in Gaza improve first. A high-ranking Hamas politician expressed that it was essential to significantly improve the catastrophic humanitarian conditions and to receive written feedback from the enemy regarding their answer. "This is a condition to return to negotiations," said Basem Naim.