“Every minute in captivity endangers the lives” of the hostages, said Israeli military spokesman Daniel Hagari.
THE Israeli army stated today that the International Committee of Red Cross (ICRC) should be able to access the Israelis and foreign hostages held since October 7 by the Palestinian movement Hamas and his allies in Gaza Stripwhich is under heavy Israeli bombardment.
“Every minute in captivity endangers the lives” of the hostages, said military spokesman Daniel Hagari, “the international community must act. The Red Cross must have access to the hostages,” he said.
“The international organizations know what their mandate is and they also know the facts: Hamas is preventing them from doing their job,” he added. A target of criticism in Israel, the ICRC told Agence France-Presse (AFP) in late November that it did not know where the hostages were and that it could not access them without agreement from their captors.
Hagari stressed that “138 hostages, children, women and the elderly, have been in the hands of Hamas for more than 60 days under brutal and inhumane conditions. Some suffer from chronic diseases. Some were injured” on October 7, “some have been injured ever since.” Every day, every (hour) and every minute is critical.”
About 240 Israeli and foreign hostages have been forcibly taken to the Gaza Strip by Palestinian militants who attacked southern Israel on October 7, also killing more than 1,200 people, mostly civilians, according to Israeli authorities.
The Israeli military immediately responded by launching heavy bombardments in the Gaza Strip, followed by ground operations since October 27. A week-long ceasefire in late November allowed the release of 105 hostages, including 80 Israelis and dual nationals who were exchanged for 240 Palestinian prisoners from Israeli prisons as part of a deal between Israel and Hamas brokered by Qatar.
Freed hostages and Palestinian prisoners were handed over to ICRC personnel and transported in ICRC vehicles.
Since then Hamas has ruled out any release of additional hostages without a permanent ceasefire.
“The Israeli army will do everything it can to rescue our hostages and bring them back home. We call on others to do the same,” Hagari said.
Source :Skai
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