Hostage Videos Spark Israeli PM's Urgent Red Cross Plea
Emaciated captives fuel calls for Gaza truce, hostage release.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urgently appealed to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) on Sunday to provide food and medical aid to hostages held in Gaza, following the release of disturbing videos showing two captives, Rom Braslavski and Evyatar David, appearing emaciated. The footage, released by Hamas and Islamic Jihad, has intensified public outrage in Israel and renewed demands for a truce to secure the release of the remaining 49 hostages, including 27 believed dead, taken during Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack.
Netanyahu, in a call with ICRC’s regional coordinator Julien Lerisson, pressed for immediate humanitarian assistance. The ICRC condemned the “harrowing” videos and reiterated its demand for access to the hostages. Hamas’s Al-Qassam Brigades responded, stating they would allow ICRC access only if Israel opens “humanitarian corridors” for aid across Gaza, claiming hostages face the same starvation as Gazans due to Israel’s siege.
The videos, showing David forced to dig what he described as his own grave, have fueled protests in Tel Aviv, where tens of thousands rallied Saturday for a hostage release deal. Netanyahu, expressing “profound shock,” assured families that efforts to free all hostages continue. EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas called the videos “appalling,” demanding Hamas release all hostages and end its rule in Gaza, echoing mediators Qatar and Egypt.
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Gaza’s dire humanitarian crisis, worsened by Israel’s aid restrictions, has led to UN warnings of unfolding famine. On Sunday, Gaza’s civil defence reported nine Palestinians killed by Israeli fire while awaiting aid near Rafah, and five more near a central Gaza aid site, with no military comment. The Hamas-run health ministry reports 60,430 deaths in Gaza since 2023, mostly civilians, while Hamas’s attack killed 1,219, primarily civilians.
In a provocative move, far-right Israeli Minister Itamar Ben Gvir prayed at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, a site sacred to both Muslims and Jews, defying conventions and calling for Gaza’s annexation and “voluntary emigration” of its population. The Palestine Red Crescent Society also reported a staff member’s death in an Israeli strike on its Khan Yunis headquarters, unconfirmed by the military.
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