Hamas said it is ready to coordinate with the Red Cross to deliver humanitarian aid to hostages held in Gaza, if Israel meets certain conditions, as outrage mounts over the deteriorating condition of captives and a rising death toll from hunger.
The announcement on Sunday followed the release of a disturbing video showing Israeli hostage Evyatar David, severely emaciated and digging what he says, is his own grave.
The footage, Hamas’s second video of David in two days, drew condemnation from France, Germany, the UK, and the United States, while Israeli officials said they were pushing for an emergency United Nations Security Council session on the plight of hostages.
Hamas said it would allow coordination with the Red Cross only if Israel permanently opens humanitarian corridors and halts airstrikes during aid distribution. So far, the group has denied any humanitarian organisation access to hostages, leaving families with little to no information about their condition.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday he urged the Red Cross to assist the hostages during talks with the head of its local delegation.
According to Israeli officials, 50 hostages remain in Gaza, but only 20 are believed to be alive.
The Hostages Families Forum, representing relatives of those held, said Hamas's latest statement “cannot whitewash” the fact that captives have been kept in “impossible conditions for over 660 days”.
“Hamas kidnapped them and they must care for them,” the group said. “Every hostage who dies will be on Hamas’s hands.”
Meanwhile, Gaza's health ministry said six more people died of starvation or malnutrition in the last 24 hours, raising the toll to 175 since the start of the war, including 93 children.
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer met Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing on Thursday (29 January) for talks he hopes will deepen economic ties, sign...
U.S. President Donald Trump urged Iran on Wednesday (28 January) to come to the table and make a deal on nuclear weapons or the next U.S. attack would...
Life will be particularly tough for Ukrainians over the next three weeks due to plunging temperatures and a compromised energy infrastructure that has...
Storm Kristin has killed at least three people and left more than 800,000 residents without electricity across central and northern Portugal, as viole...
U.S. stock markets finished mixed on Wednesday (28 January) as investors reacted calmly after the Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged, a dec...
Life will be particularly tough for Ukrainians over the next three weeks due to plunging temperatures and a compromised energy infrastructure that has been pummeled by intense Russian attacks, depriving millions of light and heat, a senior lawmaker said on Wednesday.
Storm Kristin has killed at least three people and left more than 800,000 residents without electricity across central and northern Portugal, as violent winds, heavy rain and snowfall battered the country before moving into Spain.
U.S. stock markets finished mixed on Wednesday (28 January) as investors reacted calmly after the Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged, a decision that had been widely expected and largely priced in.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani has called for tax increases on the city’s wealthiest residents and most profitable corporations, warning that the city is facing a fiscal crisis on a scale greater than the Great Recession.
France’s National Assembly has approved a bill banning access to social media for children under 15, a move backed by President Emmanuel Macron and the government as part of efforts to protect teenagers’ mental and physical health.
The S&P 500 edged to a record closing high on Tuesday, marking its fifth consecutive day of gains, as strong advances in technology stocks offset a sharp selloff in healthcare shares and a mixed batch of corporate earnings.
Sanctions are a long-used tool designed as an alternative to military force and with the objective of changing governments’ behaviour, but they also end up hurting civilian citizens.
A routine military training exercise turned into a major recovery mission this week after a catastrophic mudslide swept through a hillside in West Java, Indonesia.
Residents in Syria’s Kurdish-majority city of Qamishli have stepped up volunteer patrols amid growing pressure from the country’s Islamist-led government, expressing deep mistrust of Damascus despite a fragile U.S.-backed ceasefire.
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer met Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing on Thursday (29 January) for talks he hopes will deepen economic ties, signalling a potential breakthrough after years of strained relations.
U.S. President Donald Trump urged Iran on Wednesday (28 January) to come to the table and make a deal on nuclear weapons or the next U.S. attack would be far worse. Tehran responded with a threat to strike back against the United States.
Life will be particularly tough for Ukrainians over the next three weeks due to plunging temperatures and a compromised energy infrastructure that has been pummeled by intense Russian attacks, depriving millions of light and heat, a senior lawmaker said on Wednesday.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani has called for tax increases on the city’s wealthiest residents and most profitable corporations, warning that the city is facing a fiscal crisis on a scale greater than the Great Recession.
The United States is handing over a tanker to Venezuela that it seized earlier this month, according to two U.S. officials, marking the first known case of Donald Trump’s administration returning such a vessel, Reuters reported.
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