Hamas announced on Sunday that it would conditionally permit aid to be delivered to hostages in Gaza, so long as Israel would cease its airstrikes in the region.
The Palestinian nationalist Islamic paramilitary organization said it would allow the Red Cross to deliver supplies and much-needed aid to the hostages Hamas has in Gaza, Reuters reported. However, the decision to allow aid deliveries is “contingent upon” Israel stopping its airstrike campaign in the region during the shipments of food and other aid supplies.
Abu Obeida, a spokesman for Hamas’s military wing, the Qassam Brigades, reportedly released a statement about the feeding of their hostages and the conditions in which they are kept.
“Our fighters treat their captives according to the teachings of our faith and the values of our humanity,” said Abu Obeida. “They feed them from what they eat and give them to drink from what they drink — just as all our people do.”
“They will not receive any special privilege amid the crime of starvation and siege,” he added. However, Abu Obeida acknowledged that Hamas was “ready to act positively and respond to any request from the Red Cross to deliver food and medicine to enemy prisoners.”
In a statement on his Telegram channel, Abu Obeida said, “The natural and permanent opening of humanitarian corridors to allow food and medicine to reach all people in Gaza, and a halt to all occupation air sorties during the times aid packages are delivered to the prisoners.”
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The decision to potentially allow Red Cross officials to deliver aid in Gaza came after international countries and organizations condemned Hamas for images of two emaciated Israeli hostages. The International Committee of the Red Cross was also critical, calling the images as appalling and harrowing, and called for Hamas to grant them “access to the hostages.”
“We know families watching these videos are horrified and heartbroken by the conditions they see their loved ones held in,” said the ICRC.