The International Committee of the Red Cross is speaking directly to senior Hamas officials to request access to the Israeli hostages, the ICRC told the Times of Israel on Sunday.
“We are speaking personally to Hamas at the highest levels,” said Sarah Davies of the ICRC for Israel and the Occupied Territories. “The fate of loved ones held hostage is one of our top priorities. We make demands to see them. We ask that they be able to contact family members.”
“We are demanding immediate access to the hostages so we can check on their welfare and contact their panicked families who are desperate for news,” she said.
“And we have made it clear that we are ready to facilitate any eventual publication.”
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Davies said the ICRC immediately offered support to Israeli officials on October 7, the day of the attack, and was communicating with them regularly.
The families of the hostages publicly called on the Red Cross to act and met with ICRC representatives on Friday.
Sharon Lifschitz (left) and Noam Sagi meet for a press conference of British children of Israeli hostages at a hotel in London, October 12, 2023 (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
She said it was best for the organization to do its work behind the scenes.
“It may feel like we are silent, but I can promise you that we are where it matters most,” Davies said. “We are not outspoken because we know from decades of experience that the best way to affect change for those we want to help is to keep a low profile and directly advocate for the interests of those we want to help behind closed doors . “those who have the influence to make a difference.”
Hamas-led attackers who invaded southern Israeli communities last Saturday killed more than 1,300 people and kidnapped about 150 to 200 hostages into Gaza, including babies, young children, women and the elderly.
The ICRC has had a team in the Gaza Strip for decades.
Davies said the organization would continue its efforts.
She also stressed that “all forms of sexual violence, when committed in the context of an armed conflict, whether international or non-international, constitute violations of international humanitarian law.”
Footage released by Hamas on the day of the attack showed evidence of violent rape by the terrorists, including a female soldier being pulled from a jeep with the seat of her sweatpants covered in blood.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in Tel Aviv on Thursday that Hamas raped women in the attack.
Palestinians bring a kidnapped Israeli civilian (center) from Kibbutz Kfar Aza to the Gaza Strip on October 7, 2023. (Hatem Ali/AP)
“The ICRC is guided solely by the interests of victims and the desire to alleviate their suffering,” said Davies. “The ICRC stands ready to provide any necessary humanitarian assistance and, in our role as a neutral mediator, to visit anyone deprived of their liberty or detained.”
The office of Gal Hirsch, the special envoy for Israel’s hostages and missing persons, did not respond to questions about Israel’s work with the ICRC.
Military spokesman Richard Hecht said Sunday it had confirmed that 126 people had been held hostage by Hamas since the terror group carried out its deadly attack eight days earlier. Authorities initially estimated around 150 Israeli and foreign prisoners. The number rose from 120 reported on Saturday, and officials warned the number was likely to change further in the coming days.
Israeli officials say the number of known hostages has been revised downwards as bodies have been found and identified at Hamas attack sites in southern Israel. The military also said its forces found the bodies of some hostages during raids in Gaza, without giving a number.
Hamas claimed that 22 hostages were killed in Israeli strikes, without providing evidence. It has warned that it would kill hostages in response to unannounced Israeli attacks on civilian targets.
AFP contributed to this report.