The Red Cross said Thursday that it is in contact with Hamas and Israeli authorities to work for the release of hostages taken by the Islamist movement in the surprise attack launched against Israel on Saturday.
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) also called on “both sides to reduce the suffering of civilians,” according to a statement.
“As neutral intermediaries, we are willing to carry out humanitarian visits, facilitate communication between the hostages and their families and facilitate any possible release,” highlighted the ICRC regional director for the Middle East, in the same note.
Fabrizio Carboni also recalled that the taking of hostages is prohibited by International Humanitarian Law and any detained person must be released immediately.
Dozens of Israelis and foreigners, soldiers, civilians, children and women, are believed to be in the hands of Hamas in the Gaza Strip since the start of the offensive.
Israeli authorities identify 150 hostages, while hundreds of people remain missing and bodies continue to be identified.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has also begun a process of negotiations with Hamas to obtain the release of the hostages, an official source told the France-Presse news agency on Wednesday night.
Carboni was also concerned about the fate of civilians in the Gaza Strip, following increased Israeli bombing of the Palestinian enclave controlled by Hamas.
Israel has imposed a complete siege on the Gaza Strip and cut off water, fuel and electricity supplies to the territory, where more than two million people live.
As Gaza loses electricity, “hospitals are left without electricity, putting newborns placed in incubators and elderly patients receiving oxygen at risk. Kidney dialysis is interrupted and x-rays cannot be performed,” recalled the official.
“Without electricity, hospitals risk becoming morgues,” the Red Cross leader insisted, also highlighting that access to drinking water is already difficult in Gaza.
“No parent wants to be forced to give dirty water to a thirsty child,” Carboni insisted.
Hamas, in power in the Gaza Strip since 2007, launched a surprise attack on Israeli territory on October 7, under the name of operation “Al-Aqsa Storm”, with the launch of thousands of rockets and the incursion of armed rebels. by land. sea and air.
In response, Israel bombed several Hamas facilities in that Palestinian territory from the air, in an operation it called “Iron Swords.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared that the country is “at war” with Hamas, which has been internationally classified as a terrorist movement not only by Israel, but also by the United States, the European Union (EU) and other nations.
Israel, which has imposed a total siege on the Gaza Strip and cut off the supply of water, fuel and electricity, has confirmed more than 1,200 dead and 3,700 wounded since the start of the Hamas offensive, supported by the Lebanese Hezbollah and the branch of the Islamic Jihad. .
Source: TSF
