Netanyahu Urges Red Cross to Deliver Food and Medical Aid to Israeli Hostages in Gaza
Netanyahu demands Red Cross deliver food & medicine to Israeli hostages in Gaza, citing 'systematic starvation.'Hamas claims captives 'eat same food' as guards, as humanitarian access remains contested amid stalled negotiations.
ERBIL (Kurdistan24) – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday called on the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to urgently provide food and medical care to Israeli hostages held in Gaza, describing their situation as a humanitarian emergency.
In a conversation with Julien Lerisson, the head of the ICRC mission in Israel and the occupied territories, Netanyahu formally requested the organization's intervention. According to a statement from the Prime Minister’s Office, Netanyahu “asked the Red Cross to participate in the provision of food and urgent medical care to our hostages.”
He further emphasized the need for the ICRC to help facilitate the release of those held captive in Gaza, framing the appeal as driven by humanitarian considerations.
Netanyahu criticized what he called a “global echo” of Hamas’s “lie about starvation,” contrasting it with the suffering of Israeli hostages who are allegedly enduring “systematic starvation and brutal physical and psychological abuse.”
“The world cannot remain indifferent in the face of these horrific images,” he told Lerisson.
His comments come in the wake of a video released by Hamas’s military wing, Al-Qassam Brigades, showing Israeli hostage Avitar David in a visibly emaciated condition. The footage, presented in Arabic, Hebrew, and English, appears to highlight the severe health deterioration of the hostage, with protruding bones suggestive of severe malnutrition.
In the video, Hamas claimed that the hostages “eat what we eat,” in an apparent attempt to deny accusations of neglect or abuse.
The Red Cross has not publicly responded to Netanyahu’s request. However, the humanitarian organization's access to hostages and conflict zones often depends on agreements between parties involved, and its actions are typically governed by principles of neutrality and impartiality.
Netanyahu’s appeal underscores the intensifying international pressure surrounding the Gaza hostage issue, particularly amid stalled ceasefire talks and mounting humanitarian crises in the region.
