GazaHerald – The Hamas Movement announced its willingness to cooperate with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to deliver food and medicine to Israeli captives held in the Gaza Strip, on condition that aid routes are also opened for the besieged Palestinian population.
In a statement shared via Telegram, Abu Obeida, spokesperson for the al-Qassam Brigades, said the group was “ready to deal positively” with any ICRC request to deliver humanitarian supplies to Israeli captives. However, he stressed that any such cooperation would be contingent on the establishment of sustained humanitarian corridors throughout Gaza and a halt to Israeli air raids during the handover of supplies.
“We stipulate that humanitarian corridors must be opened on a normal and permanent basis to allow the passage of food and medicine to all our people in all areas of the Gaza Strip,” Abu Obeida said. “All forms of enemy air raids must be halted during the times when parcels for the captives are received.”
He added that the captives held by Hamas “eat what our fighters and our people eat” and would not receive any special treatment amid the broader siege and starvation imposed on Gaza. “The Qassam Brigades do not intentionally starve the captives,” he said.
The announcement comes days after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu personally appealed to the Red Cross for intervention. According to a statement from his office, Netanyahu spoke with Julian Larison, head of the ICRC delegation in the region, requesting immediate food and medical aid for Israeli hostages held in Gaza since the October 7, 2023 operation.
Netanyahu accused Hamas of “systematic and deliberate starvation” of Israeli captives and claimed such actions violate international law and the Geneva Conventions, despite his government’s own responsibility for the starvation of more than two million Palestinians in Gaza through a brutal blockade and bombardment campaign.
The Israeli plea followed the circulation of three videos released by Hamas and Islamic Jihad, showing captives Rom Braslavsky and Eviatar David appearing visibly thin and physically weakened. One of the videos, released Friday by the Qassam Brigades, showed David emaciated and visibly suffering, his condition reflecting, according to Hamas, the wider starvation crisis inflicted by Israel on the entire population of Gaza.
Braslavsky and David are among the remaining Israeli captives held in Gaza. The Israeli military says 27 of them have died, and Tel Aviv now estimates that only 20 of the 50 captives are still alive.
Over 10,800 Palestinians are detained in Israeli prisons, where they endure systematic malnutrition, medical neglect, and torture. According to both Palestinian and Israeli human rights and media sources, many have died in detention under these harsh conditions.
A few days ago, Israel abruptly withdrew from indirect negotiations with Hamas in Doha, which were mediated by Qatar and Egypt and supported by the United States. The talks reportedly collapsed due to Israel’s hardening positions on key issues, including a full military withdrawal from Gaza, ending the war, the release of Palestinian prisoners, and mechanisms for distributing humanitarian aid.
Hamas has repeatedly declared its readiness to release all Israeli captives in exchange for a comprehensive ceasefire, a full withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza, and the release of Palestinian detainees. However, Netanyahu continues to evade such an agreement, instead introducing new preconditions, including the complete disarmament of Palestinian resistance factions, while pushing forward plans to reoccupy the Gaza Strip.
