Hamas Open to ICRC Aid for Israeli Captives Amid Gaza Siege

Hamas has shown openness to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) facilitating aid deliveries to Israeli captives in Gaza, following advocacy from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, as reported by Al Jazeera.

Netanyahu, speaking to Julian Larson, head of the ICRC's Israel delegation, called for immediate involvement in providing essential food and medical supplies to captives in Gaza. Palestinian groups recently released concerning videos of two emaciated Israeli captives amid a broader starvation crisis impacting around two million Palestinians in Gaza.

On social media platform X, Netanyahu claimed Hamas was propagating falsehoods about starvation in Gaza, but asserted that systematic starvation was endangering Israeli hostages. The Qassam Brigades, Hamas's armed wing, responded through spokesman Abu Obeida, stating Israeli captives are treated equally as the fighters and ordinary citizens and expressed readiness to cooperate with the ICRC upon requests to deliver food and medicine to captives.

Abu Obeida emphasized the need for permanent humanitarian corridors for supplies to reach Gaza residents and demanded a halt to Israeli violence during aid exchanges. The ICRC expressed shock at the disturbing captives' videos, reiterating their plea for access to the hostages, highlighting the life-threatening conditions and the agony of families witnessing these distressing scenes.

ICRC noted that gaining access requires cooperation from all involved parties, pointing out that they haven't visited Palestinian detainees in Israeli detention since October 2023. In a separate incident, ICRC condemned the killing of a Palestine Red Crescent Society employee in Gaza, blamed on Israeli forces, further complicating the tension.

Simultaneously, relatives of Israeli captives criticized Netanyahu's military resolution plans, warning of direct danger to their loved ones languishing in tunnels under starvation threats. Families protested what they termed the illusion of military pressure bringing back captives, expressing frustrations over the apparent futility in negotiations.

With around 50 captives believed to remain in Gaza, and less than half presumed alive, the humanitarian toll is mounting. Israeli permission for merely 36 aid trucks to enter Gaza contrasts with the over 22,000 waiting at the border. The United Nations in Geneva sounded alarms for one million starving women and girls in Gaza, demanding urgent lifesaving aid and ceasefire declarations. Consumptive malnutrition claimed 175 lives, including 93 children, throwing a stark spotlight on Gaza's humanitarian devastation, Al Jazeera added. (ANI)

(With inputs from agencies.)