Hamas says it will allow aid for hostages if Israel halts air strikes, opens humanitarian corridors

CAIRO - Hamas said on Aug 3 it was prepared to coordinate with the Red Cross to deliver aid to hostages it holds in Gaza if Israel meets certain conditions, after a video it released showing an emaciated captive drew sharp criticism from Western powers.

Hamas said any coordination with the Red Cross is contingent upon Israel permanently opening humanitarian corridors and halting air strikes during the distribution of aid.

According to Israeli officials, 50 hostages now remain in Gaza, only 20 of whom are believed to be alive. Hamas has thus far barred humanitarian organisations from having any kind of access to the hostages, and families have few or no details of their conditions.

On Aug 2, Hamas

released its second video in two days

of Israeli hostage Evyatar David. In it, Mr David, skeletally thin, is shown digging a hole that he says in the video is for his own grave. The arm of the individual holding the camera, which can be seen in the frame, is of a regular width.

The video of Mr David drew criticism from Western powers and horrified Israelis. France, Germany, Britain and the US were among countries to express outrage, and Israel’s Foreign Ministry announced that the UN Security Council will hold a special session on the morning of Aug 5 on the issue of the situation of the hostages in Gaza.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Aug 3 that he had asked the Red Cross to give humanitarian assistance to the hostages during a conversation with the head of the Swiss-based International Committee of the Red Cross’ local delegation.

A statement from the Hostages Families Forum, which represents relatives of those being held in Gaza, said Hamas’ comments about the hostages cannot hide that it “has been holding innocent people in impossible conditions for over 660 days”, and demanded their immediate release.

“Until their release, Hamas has the obligation to provide them with everything they need. Hamas kidnapped them and it must care for them. Every hostage who dies will be on Hamas’ hands,” said the statement.

Six more people died of starvation or malnutrition

in Gaza over the past 24 hours, its Health Ministry said on Aug 3, as Israel said it allowed a delivery of fuel to the enclave, which is in the throes of a humanitarian disaster after almost two years of war.

The new deaths raised the toll of those dying from what international humanitarian agencies say may be an unfolding famine to 175, including 93 children, since the war began, the ministry said.

Egypt’s state-affiliated Al Qahera News TV said two trucks carrying 97 tonnes of diesel were set to enter Gaza, months after Israel severely restricted aid access to the enclave before easing it somewhat as starvation began to spread.

Cogat, the Israeli military agency that coordinates aid, said later in the day that four tankers of UN fuel had entered to help in operations of hospitals, bakeries, public kitchens and other essential services.

There was no immediate confirmation whether the two diesel fuel trucks had entered Gaza from Egypt.

Gaza’s Health Ministry has said fuel shortages have severely impaired hospital services, forcing doctors to focus on treating only critically ill or injured patients.

Fuel shipments have been rare since March, when Israel restricted the flow of aid into the enclave in what it said was pressure on Hamas militants to free the remaining hostages they took in their October 2023 attack on Israel.

Israel blames Hamas for the suffering in Gaza, but in response to a rising international uproar, it announced steps last week to let more aid reach the population, including pausing fighting for part of the day in some areas, approving airdrops and announcing protected routes for aid convoys.

UN agencies say airdrops are insufficient and that Israel must let in far more aid by land and open up access to the territory to prevent starvation among its 2.2 million people, most of whom are displaced amid vast swathes of rubble.

Cogat said that during the past week, more than 20,000 tonnes of humanitarian aid in 1,200 trucks had entered Gaza, but hundreds of the trucks had yet to be driven to aid distribution hubs by the UN and other international organisations.

Meanwhile, Belgium’s air force dropped the first in a series of its aid packages into Gaza on Aug 3 in a joint operation with Jordan, the Belgian Defence Ministry said.

France on Aug 1 started to airdrop 40 tonnes of humanitarian aid.

Looted aid trucks

The Hamas-run Gaza government media office said on Aug 3 that nearly 1,600 aid trucks had arrived since Israel eased restrictions late in July. However, witnesses and Hamas sources said many of those trucks have been looted by desperate displaced people and armed gangs.

More than 700 trucks of fuel entered the Gaza Strip in January and February during a ceasefire, before Israel broke it in March in a dispute over terms for extending it and resumed its major offensive.

Palestinian health authorities said at least 80 people had been killed by Israeli gunfire and air strikes across the coastal enclave on Aug 3. Deaths included those of people trying to make their way to aid distribution points in southern and central areas of Gaza, Palestinian medics said.

Among those killed was a staff member of the Palestinian Red Crescent Society, which said an Israeli strike at its headquarters in Khan Younis in southern Gaza ignited a fire on the first floor of the building.

The Gaza war began when Hamas killed more than 1,200 people and took 251 hostage in a cross-border attack on southern Israel on Oct 7, 2023, according to Israeli figures. Israel’s air and ground war in densely populated Gaza has since killed more than 60,000 people, according to enclave health officials. REUTERS