Email
\n <\/a><\/p>\n
Link<\/p>\n
\n Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has accused Hamas of not wanting a ceasefire deal and requested that the International Red Cross bring food and medical care to hostages held in Gaza, after public fury ignited<\/a> over propaganda videos showing two emaciated Israeli captives.\n <\/p>\n \n Tens of thousands of protestors joined a rally in Tel Aviv on Saturday evening \u2013 some holding placards reading \u201cStop the war\u201d and \u201cLeave no one behind\u201d \u2013 as they called for Netanyahu to strike a deal that would free the Israeli hostages still held in Gaza.\n <\/p>\n \n Videos released by the militant groups Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad last week showed hostages Evyatar David and Rom Braslavski in a visibly fragile state \u2013 images that galvanized a forceful reaction both at home and abroad.\n <\/p>\n \n On Sunday, the International Red Cross (ICRC) in Israel and the Occupied Territories said <\/a>that it was \u201cappalled\u201d by the videos and urged that the \u201cdire situation must come to an end.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n Several world leaders also condemned the videos of the Israel hostages, with French President Emmanuel Macron describing them as \u201cunbearable\u201d and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz saying the images \u201cshow that Hamas should have no role in Gaza\u2019s future.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n Netanyahu\u2019s office said on Sunday that the prime minister spoke with Julien Lerisson, the head of the Red Cross delegation in the region, to request \u201chis involvement in the immediate provision of food and medical care for the hostages.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n The office also repeated Netanyahu\u2019s denial <\/a>that starvation was rife in the enclave, despite a UN-backed food security agency\u2019s warning this week that \u201cthe worst-case scenario of famine\u201d is unfolding in Gaza.\n <\/p>\n \n Hamas has said it is prepared to \u201cdeal positively\u201d with any Red Cross request to deliver food and medicine to hostages, but only on the condition that humanitarian corridors are opened up in Gaza.\n <\/p>\n \n The militant group claims that the hostages\u2019 emaciated state is a reflection of worsening conditions in the strip. However, other hostages who have been freed in the past have similarly appeared<\/a> gaunt and frail at the time of their release and described malnourishment<\/a> while in captivity.\n <\/p>\n \n Abu Obeida, a spokesman for Hamas\u2019 military wing, al-Qassam Brigades, said this weekend that the group does not intentionally starve the hostages, and that they eat the same food that Hamas fighters and the general Gaza population eat. \u201cThey will not receive any special privileges amid the crime of starvation and siege,\u201d he added.\n <\/p>\n \n A member of Hamas\u2019 political bureau, Izzat Al-Rashiq, described the images as \u201cthe definitive response to all who deny the existence of famine in Gaza.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n Malnutrition-related deaths in Gaza spiked in July, the latest sign of a worsening hunger crisis, the World Health Organization warned last week. The agency said the enclave\u2019s malnutrition rates reached \u201calarming levels,\u201d with over 5,000 children under five admitted for outpatient treatment of malnutrition in just the first two weeks of July.\n <\/p>\n \n Gazans also face lethal danger when attempting to collect aid from distribution sites, where violent clashes<\/a> can erupt. On Sunday, a shooting incident near an aid site in northern Gaza killed at least 13 people and left dozens wounded, according to the Emergency and Medical Services in Gaza.\n <\/p>\n \n Allowing Red Cross access would be a shift for Hamas, which has previously opposed any access to the hostages by the humanitarian group. The ICRC, which has only facilitated previous releases of hostages throughout the war, said in March that it was \u201chugely disappointing\u201d to have not yet been able to visit any hostages so far, emphasizing that it was not for lack of trying.\n <\/p>\n \n Recent ceasefire talks have borne little fruit, with Israeli and US negotiators recalled from negotiations last month. US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff at the time blamed<\/a> Hamas for poor coordination and \u201clack of desire to reach a ceasefire,\u201d saying the US would consider \u201calternative options.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n On Sunday, Netanyahu cited the latest images of Hamas captives as evidence of bad faith. \u201cWhen I see this, I understand exactly what Hamas wants. They don\u2019t want a deal. They want to break us with these horrifying videos, with the false horror propaganda they\u2019re spreading around the world,\u201d he said.\n <\/p>\n \n The Israeli leader is now \u201cpushing for the freeing of the hostages through military defeat (of Hamas),\u201d one Israeli official told CNN on Sunday \u2013 a route that the hostages\u2019 families have repeatedly warned against.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cWe are in discussions with the Americans. There is a growing understanding that Hamas is not interested in a deal,\u201c the official said, adding that Netanyahu wants to combine the freeing of the hostages \u201cwith the entry of humanitarian aid into areas outside the combat zones and, as much as possible, into areas not under Hamas control.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n As Israel\u2019s war in Gaza grinds on, it has faced increasing resistance from the Israeli public, whose frustration over the fates of the remaining hostages has intensified.\n <\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/4-20250803204751792.jpg\")
<\/p>\n