Red Cross to be 'neutral humanitarian mediator' as Netanyahu urges it to provide hostages aid
The head of the regional International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Julien Lerisson, pledged that the organization would play a role as a "neutral humanitarian mediator and assist in the release of all hostages at any stage," in a conversation with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday, according to a statement from the aid organization.
Netanyahu demanded that the ICRC provide food and immediate medical care to the remaining hostages in Gaza, while in the call, the Prime Minister's Office said.
Lerrison told the prime minister that the ICRC continues to push for access to the hostages so that the organization can provide them with care and restore contact between them and their families, according to a statement from the organization.
The prime minister demanded countries worldwide denounce terrorist organizations such as Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and said their actions go against international law and the Geneva Conventions.
"Hamas's lie of starvation resonates around the world, while the actual systematic starvation is against our hostages who suffer brutal physical and mental abuse," Netanyahu told the Red Cross official. "The world cannot stand idly by in the face of the shocking images reminiscent of Nazi crimes."
The Red Cross has facilitated the transfer of hostages from the Gaza Strip into Israel following previous agreements between Hamas and Israel during the war. The organization has faced criticism for failing to provide aid to the hostages in the nearly two years since the war began from hostage families and Israeli officials.
Status of hostages recently seen in propaganda videos
The discussion between the two came a day after Hamas and PIJ published three hostage videos between Thursday and Saturday. The videos included Israeli captives Evyatar David and Rom Braslavski, who both appeared emaciated. In the video of David, he said the terrorist organization had ordered him to dig his own grave.
David's older brother, Ilay David, on Saturday, appealed for immediate international intervention to save the hostages, particularly mentioning Guy Gilboa-Dalal.
The two hostages were last seen together in a propaganda video by the terrorist organization, where they were both forced to watch as other hostages were released in a deal back in February of this year.
Earlier on Thursday, the PIJ published a video of hostage Rom Braslavski on their social media. The terrorist group claimed that this was the last footage of Braslavski before contact with his guards was lost two days later.
"They managed to break Rom. Even the strongest person has a breaking point. Rom is an example of all the hostages," his family said.
Danielle Greyman-Kennard contributed to this report.
Solve the daily Crossword
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New York Post
16 minutes ago
- New York Post
Former NYT staffer blasts Gray Lady for ‘twisting' facts about Israeli hostage digging own grave
A former New York Times staffer on Monday slammed the Gray Lady for 'twisting' the facts about how it framed a story about an emaciated Israeli hostage being forced to dig his own grave. The liberal broadsheet — which was forced to amend a front-page article featuring an image of a supposedly starving child in Gaza — published a video on Saturday about Israeli Evyatar David being held by Hamas since Oct. 7, 2023, without using the horrific photo of his skeletal frame. The video ran with the headline, 'Hundreds Protest in Tel Aviv After Hostage Videos Surface From Gaza,' and claimed, 'The circulation of videos created by Hamas showing Israeli hostages living in dire conditions incited families to protest in Tel Aviv on Saturday to demand a cease-fire and the return of their loved ones.' Advertisement 5 Yaakov Ort slammed his former employer, The New York Times on Facebook, calling out the newspaper's slanted coverage. Yaakov Ort/Facebook Yaakov Ort, who spent 35 years at the Times working in its creative services division, ripped his former employer over the false premise that the majority of Israelis were protesting to demand a cease-fire. 'This is an appalling twisting of the facts, and mindful, heartless concealment of the truth: Rather than running a photo of hostage Evyatar David being forced to dig his own grave by Hamas terrorists, and writing about the actual reaction of million of Israelis to seeing it, the foreign desk and photo desk ran a photo of a relative handful of protestors in Tel Aviv,' Ort wrote on his Facebook page. Advertisement Ort, who is now a senior editor at said that he has never publicly chastised his former colleagues but was aghast at the editiorial decision. 'If The Times had a Jerusalem bureau that reported the thoughts, communications and actions of the vast majority of Israelis, they would have told readers that the reaction of millions to this and other photos and videos of the physical and psychological torture of our children is not fear or protest, It is horror, rage and resolve,' he wrote 'The symbolism of the photo is so apt, since digging our own graves is exactly what the current Times news, editorial and op-ed page writers and editors, and those justifiably fearful of the Islamic street in the the West are arguing daily that we should do. Guess what? We won't.' Advertisement 5 Evyatar David was abducted on Oct. 7 at the Nova rave in southern Israel. The Times did not respond to requests for comment. David, 24, was abducted in one of the bloodiest scenes of Oct. 7. at the Nova rave in southern Israel, where more than 350 people were massacred by Hamas terrorists. David's family said in a statement to The Times that he had become a 'living skeleton, buried alive' in Hamas tunnels. Ort's outrage comes after the Times amended a story it had published containing a shocking image of a child purportedly suffering from starvation in Gaza. Advertisement In an editor's note buried in last Tuesday's edition, readers learned Mohammed Zakaria al Mutawaq — the Gazan boy 'diagnosed with severe malnutrition' and pictured in the article — suffers from 'pre-existing health problems.' 5 David has beeb held by Hamas since Oct. 7, 2023. He recently appeared in a harrowing video by Hamas. Al-Qassam Brigade Footage 'We recently ran a story about Gaza's most vulnerable civilians, including Mohammed Zakaria al-Mutawaq, who is about 18 months old and suffers from severe malnutrition,' a spokesperson for the outlet said in a statement. 'We have since learned new information, including from the hospital that treated him and his medical records, and have updated our story to add context about his pre-existing health problems,' the rep continued. 'This additional detail gives readers a greater understanding of his situation.' 5 The New York Times has been under fire for its coverage of the Israel-Hamas war. NurPhoto via Getty Images The image of Mohammed — shown with a gaunt face and his spine protruding from his back as his mother held him — went viral, with many using him as the poster child for starvation in the Palestinian enclave amid Israel's war against Hamas. Advertisement Days after The Times published images of Mohammed, pro-Israel group HonestReporting noted on July 27 that the boy's older brother, Joud, is standing in the background, appearing in far better condition. Mohammed's mother told CNN that her son suffers from a 'muscle disorder' for which he receives specialized nutrition and physical therapy.
Associated Press
17 minutes ago
- Associated Press
France and Saudis vow to keep up momentum for 'two-state solution' to Israel-Palestinian conflict
UNITED NATIONS (AP) — After decades of inaction and frozen negotiations, the issue of an independent Palestinian state living in peace with Israel returned to the spotlight at a high-level U.N. conference — and France and Saudi Arabia, which spearheaded the effort, are determined to keep up the momentum. But hurdles for a two-state solution that would see Israel living side-by-side with an independent Palestine are very high. War in Gaza — a crucial part of a hoped-for Palestinian state — drags on with escalating violence in the West Bank, the other main component. And Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his right-wing government vehemently oppose an independent Palestinian state, which the Israeli leader says would be a reward for terrorism after Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attacks against his country. Nonetheless, after eight decades of conflict between Israel and Palestinians, pressure is growing for a two-state solution, as last week's high-level U.N. conference co-chaired by France and Saudi Arabia demonstrated — even if it was boycotted by Israel and its close ally, the United States. The conference illustrated that many believe a political solution is possible The French U.N. ambassador, Jerome Bonnafont, conceded in an Associated Press interview that without a Gaza ceasefire and massive humanitarian aid for over 2 million Palestinians sliding toward famine, 'it will be extremely difficult to move forward to define a new way of administering Gaza as part of Palestine' – and he said these are priority issues. But the conference demonstrated that a majority of the U.N.'s 193 member nations are 'convinced that there is a possibility of a political solution,' he said, and that is 'what its follow-up will continue to promote.' About 160 of the U.N.'s 193 member nations participated, 125 spoke in support of a two-state solution (forcing the meeting into an unexpected third day), and between 40 and 50 were represented by a government minister. An independent state of Palestine is recognized by over 145 countries, and the meeting sparked new pledges of recognition by three of the seven members of the powerful Group of Seven — France, United Kingdom and Canada — as well as Malta. A statement by seven others, including Australia, New Zealand, Finland and Portugal, expressed 'positive consideration' of following suit. French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot and Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farham are determined not to let the spotlight fade. They are planning 'an event' during the annual gathering of world leaders at the General Assembly, which starts Sept. 23, when the new pledges are expected to be officially announced. The conference was notable for being co-chaired by an Arab and Western nation, and for setting up eight working groups with diverse chairs to make proposals on key issues for a two state solution — security for Israel and an independent Palestine, political reforms, legal problems, humanitarian assistance, economic development and Gaza reconstruction, to name some. The result was a seven-page 'New York Declaration.' The French and Saudi foreign ministers sent the declaration, with a lengthy annex of recommendations from the working groups, to all 193 U.N. members and asked them to endorse it by early September, before the world leaders' gathering. The declaration, which also was endorsed by the European Union and Arab League, urges Israel to commit to a Palestinian state, and urges further recognitions as 'an essential and indispensable component of the achievement of the two-state solution.' The declaration contains some stronger language For the first time, the Arab League's 22 member nations condemned 'the attacks committed by Hamas against civilians' in southern Israel on Oct. 7, and agree that 'Hamas must end its rule in Gaza and hand over its weapons to the Palestinian Authority.' It sets out a plan to then move to an independent, demilitarized Palestine, including deployment of a U.N. Security Council-mandated 'temporary international stabilization mission' supported by the Palestinian Authority. It would protect civilians, help build support for a Palestinian state and its security forces, and provide 'security guarantees for Palestine and Israel.' Richard Gowan, the International Crisis Group's U.N. director, gave French President Emmanuel Macron credit 'for raising the level of ambition for the conference,' and helping make it 'more symbolically significant than many diplomats expected.' The meeting gave weighty states including France, Britain and Canada the opportunity 'to signal their discontent with Israeli policy,' he said, and it gave Palestinians seeking a peaceful road to statehood 'some political ammunition.' Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, who hosted a Hamas delegation in Istanbul last week to discuss Gaza's humanitarian crisis and stalled ceasefire talks, noted growing global support for the Palestinians and a Palestinian state — and Israel's increasing isolation. Bonnafont, the French ambassador, had messages for Israel's opponents and Israelis seeking more territory. 'We say to those who are hostile to Israel, the way to peace is certainly not to deny the right of existence to Israel. This is the way to perpetual war,' Bonnafont said. 'And the real way to defend the Palestinians is to give them a state, and the only way to give them a state is a two-state solution — and we have demonstrated concretely that this solution exists and is feasible.'
Yahoo
25 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Canadian Armed Forces airdrop aid to Palestinians in Gaza
OTTAWA — Canadian aircraft carried out an airdrop of nearly 10,000 kilograms of aid to Palestinians in Gaza on Monday as Prime Minister Mark Carney warns of a deteriorating humanitarian crisis in the region. The Canadian Armed Forces flew a CC-130J Hercules aircraft over the Gaza Strip to conduct the drop, said Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand and Defence Minister David McGuinty in a media statement. Carney said in a social media post Monday that the "humanitarian disaster in Gaza is rapidly deteriorating." "Canada is intensifying our efforts with international partners to develop a credible peace plan and will ensure aid moves forward at the necessary scale," he said. Carney had posted video earlier in the week of Canadian aid pallets delivered to Gaza via Jordanian military aircraft. Anand said in a separate social media post that she remains in contact with her counterpart in Jordan to ensure Canadian aid reaches Palestinians via air and land. Israel imposed a blockade on Gaza in March, arguing that Hamas had been selling vital supplies and food to pay its fighters. UN agencies say this was not happening to any large extent. After 2 1/2 months, Israel allowed Americans to launch the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which set up aid distribution sites. Hundreds of Palestinians have been killed by Israeli army fire and American contractors while trying to access those sites. Israel recently loosened some restrictions on food and medicine reaching the Gaza Strip in response to an international outcry over starvation in the Palestinian territory. Global Affairs Canada said in a release Monday that Israel's ongoing aid restrictions are in violation of international law "and must end immediately." "Canada reiterates calls for the guarantee of safe and unimpeded access for humanitarian organizations, including the opening of all crossings, the rapid approval of customs clearances and all humanitarian goods into Gaza, and the issuance of long-term visas for aid workers," the statement read. On Wednesday, Carney cited Israel's aid restrictions and the need to preserve a path to a two-state solution as reasons for declaring that Canada would officially recognize a State of Palestine. Carney said the move was conditional on the Palestinian Authority undertaking serious reforms and holding an election next year for the first time in two decades. — with files from Dylan Robertson This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 1, 2025. Craig Lord, The Canadian Press
