Netanyahu seeks Red Cross help for Gaza hostages as emaciated videos fuel Israeli outrage

Nevin Al Sukari - Sana'a - A statement from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office on Saturday said he had spoken with the families of the two hostages and “expressed profound shock over the materials distributed by the terror organisations”. — AFP pic

JERUSALEM, Aug 4 — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu requested the help of the International Committee of the Red Cross yesterday to aid hostages in Gaza, as outrage built at videos showing two of them emaciated.

The premier’s office said he spoke to the ICRC coordinator for the region, Julien Lerisson, and “requested his involvement in providing food to our hostages and... immediate medical treatment”.

The ICRC said in a statement it was “appalled by the harrowing videos” and reiterated its “call to be granted access to the hostages”.

In response, Hamas’s armed wing said that it would allow the agency access to the hostages but only if “humanitarian corridors” for food and aid were opened “across all areas of the Gaza Strip.”

The Al-Qassam Brigades said it did “not intentionally starve” the hostages, but they would not receive any special food privileges “amid the crime of starvation and siege” in Gaza.

Over recent days, Hamas and its ally Islamic Jihad have released three videos showing two hostages seized during the October 7, 2023 attack on Israel that triggered the ongoing war.

The images of Rom Braslavski and Evyatar David, both of whom appeared weak and malnourished, have fuelled renewed calls in Israel for a truce and hostage release deal.

A statement from Netanyahu’s office on Saturday said he had spoken with the families of the two hostages and “expressed profound shock over the materials distributed by the terror organisations”.

Netanyahu “told the families that the efforts to return all our hostages are ongoing”, the statement added.

Earlier in the day, tens of thousands of people had rallied in the coastal hub of Tel Aviv to call on Netanyahu’s government to secure the release of the remaining captives.

There was particular outrage in Israel over images of David, who appeared to be digging what he said in the staged video was his own grave.

The videos make references to the dire humanitarian conditions in Gaza, where UN-mandated experts have warned a “famine is unfolding”.

EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said the images “are appalling and expose the barbarity of Hamas”, calling for the release of “all hostages... immediately and unconditionally”.

Hamas must disarm

Kallas said in the same post on X that “Hamas must disarm and end its rule in Gaza”—demands endorsed earlier this week by Arab countries, including key mediators Qatar and Egypt.

She added that “large-scale humanitarian aid must be allowed to reach those in need”.

Israel has heavily restricted the entry of aid into Gaza, while UN agencies, humanitarian groups and analysts say that much of what Israel does allow in is looted or diverted in chaotic circumstances.

Many desperate Palestinians are left to risk their lives seeking what aid is distributed through controlled channels.

Yesterda, Gaza’s civil defence agency said Israeli fire killed nine Palestinians who were waiting to collect food rations from a site operated by the US- and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) near the southern city of Rafah.

“The soldiers opened fire on people. I was there, no one posed any threat” to the Israeli forces, 31-year-old witness Jabr al-Shaer told AFP by phone.

There was no comment from the military.

Five more people were killed near a different GHF aid site in central Gaza yesterday while Israeli attacks elsewhere killed another five people, said civil defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal.

Emaciated and desperate

Braslavski and David are among the 49 hostages taken during Hamas’s 2023 attack who are still being held in Gaza, including 27 the Israeli military says are dead.

Most of the 251 hostages seized in the attack were released during two short-lived truces, some in exchange for Palestinians in Israeli custody.

Hamas’s 2023 attack resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.

Israel’s campaign in Gaza has killed at least 60,430 people, also mostly civilians, according to figures from the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry, which are deemed reliable by the UN.

The Palestine Red Crescent Society said one of its staff members was killed in an Israeli attack on its Khan Yunis headquarters, in southern Gaza.

Contacted by AFP, the Israeli military said it was “not aware of a strike” in that area.

Media restrictions and difficulties accessing many areas mean AFP cannot independently verify tolls and details provided by various parties.

Provocation

In Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem, far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir conducted a Jewish prayer at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, Islam’s third-holiest site, and called for the annexation of Gaza.

The site is also revered by Jews as the Temple Mount, the holiest site in Judaism, though they are barred from praying there under a long-standing convention.

This was the first time a government minister openly prayed inside the compound, Israeli media reported.

In a statement filmed at the compound, Ben Gvir said that “the response to Hamas’s horror videos” should include annexing Gaza and the “voluntary emigration” of its population.— AFP