Still without evidence of the lives of the hostages captured during the Hamas attack, Israel’s foreign minister asked the Red Cross for help in Geneva on Tuesday, but the organization itself has not yet been able to meet them.
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“To date, no one has met the hostages. We have no proof of life,” Eli Cohen said during a press conference at the United Nations in Geneva after meeting with International Committee of the Red Cross President Mirjana Spoljaric.
“We brought food, water and medicine to Gaza. But to date, none of our hostages have met the Red Cross,” added the minister, who will also meet the head of the World Health Organization, accompanied by the Israeli Health Minister and the families of the hostages.
The Israeli military estimates that about 240 people were taken hostage in the Gaza Strip during Hamas’s unprecedented attack on Israeli territory on October 7. According to a report by the Israeli authorities, around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, died in Israel.
In retaliation, Israel has relentlessly bombed the Gaza Strip and has been conducting a ground operation since October 27 with the aim of “wiping out” the Islamist movement in power in the besieged Palestinian territories. According to the Hamas Ministry of Health, these Israeli attacks on Gaza claimed more than 11,000 lives, two-thirds of them women and children.
At the press conference in Geneva, relatives of certain hostages showed videos and photos of them.
The ICRC stressed on Tuesday that it remains committed to the cause of the hostages held in Gaza, particularly through direct contacts with Hamas and other people with influence over the parties involved.
The organization, which has so far facilitated the release of four of the hostages, said it continues to demand information about the hostages and their health. She also strives to clarify the fate of missing people.
The ICRC calls for agreements
“The families of the hostages are going through an extremely difficult time and I would like to emphasize that we are working tirelessly for their loved ones. This is my absolute priority,” the ICRC President said in a press release.
“We continue to push for the release of the hostages and will do everything in our power to gain access to these individuals. However, we cannot act in isolation: arrangements must be made that allow the ICRC to carry out its mission in complete security,” she added.
But Mr Cohen said on Tuesday that the Red Cross should be “stronger and clearer in its statements and apply more pressure”.
“We will continue this war until we eliminate Hamas and recover all of our hostages,” the Israeli minister also said, assuring that Israel will not stop hostilities until these two goals are achieved.
“We fight for the state of Israel, but also for the defense of human dignity. I’m telling you clearly: if we don’t win, Europe will be next on the list. Jihad, Islamic Jihad knows no borders,” he emphasized.
The Israeli minister also attacked Antonio Guterres, saying he “doesn’t deserve” to lead the United Nations and accused him of “not promoting a peace process in the region.”