Netanyahu calls on Red Cross to help Gaza hostages

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has appealed to the Red Cross to help the hostages held in Gaza. He accused Hamas of not seeking a ceasefire agreement and asked the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to provide food and medical care for the hostages held in Gaza. The appeal comes as a propaganda video released by Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad showing two emaciated Israeli hostages has sparked widespread public outrage. Protests were held in Tel Aviv on Saturday evening (August 2) local time, with thousands of people holding placards reading “Stop the war” and “No one will be left behind” and pressuring Netanyahu to reach a deal to release the hostages. Last week, Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad released videos of two Israeli hostages, David and Roman Braslavsky, in which they were shown in a very weak physical condition. The videos have sparked a strong reaction in Israel and internationally. On Sunday (August 3), the Red Cross in Israel and the occupied territories called the videos “horrific” and said, “This terrible situation must end.” French President Emmanuel Macron described the videos as “intolerable.” Meanwhile, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said, “These images prove that Hamas should have no role in the future of Gaza.” Netanyahu’s office said he had spoken to the Red Cross’ regional head, Julien Larison, and requested immediate food and medical supplies for the hostages. Meanwhile, Netanyahu has denied allegations of a famine in Gaza—although the UN-backed Food Security Agency has warned that Gaza is “developing the worst possible famine-like situation.” Hamas, however, has said it would “positively” consider any request from the Red Cross to deliver food and medicine to the hostages, provided that a humanitarian corridor is opened in Gaza.