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.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is arriving in Oslo for talks on the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the Norwegian government has said. U.S. Presi...
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said regional issues should be res...
Georgia’s Constitutional Court in Batumi will on Wednesday hear a lawsuit seeking to ban five Georgian opposition parties, four of whic...
U.S. President Donald Trump has criticised Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for continuing to target Russia's energy infrastructure, while Russian strikes on Kyiv overnight killed at least one person and damaged a metro station.
The day after waiving sanctions and tariffs related to Russian exports, U.S. President Donald Trump said on Saturday he has yet to announce a final decision on the matter as Secretary of State Marco Rubio said officials want more time to evaluate the situation.
A Saudi AH-6i helicopter crashed in the Najran region of Saudi Arabia due to a technical malfunction, killing its two crew members, the Saudi-led coalition's spokesman Brigadier General Turki al-Maliki said in a statement on Sunday.
French President Emmanuel Macron has condemned the violence, looting and vandalism that erupted during cost-of-living protests across France. Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu held crisis talks on Monday, calling for partial curfews and raising the possibility of a state of emergency.
An oil tanker caught fire after striking a naval mine in the southern part of the Strait of Hormuz, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Navy said late Sunday.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is arriving in Oslo for talks on the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the Norwegian government has said. U.S. President Donald Trump's Special Envoy Steve Witkoff is also expected in the Norwegian capital this week for talks with Zelenskyy and European officials.
Canada’s oil-rich province of Alberta voted to remain part of the country in a non-binding referendum on Monday, 19 October, CBC News reports, delivering a much-needed victory for Prime Minister Mark Carney amid an ongoing trade war with the United States.
A Kenyan court has convicted cult leader Paul Mackenzie and 28 co-defendants of murder over the deaths of 191 people, including 190 children, in a case that shocked the world and exposed one of the deadliest cult-related tragedies in recent memory.
The U.S. and five Central Asian nations have held high-level talks in Samarkand, focusing on trade, investment and regional security as Washington seeks to strengthen its presence in the strategically important region.
French authorities imposed local curfews in parts of Paris, Lille and Nice on Monday after a weekend of riots and looting linked to nationwide anti-government protests, as the government faced mounting criticism over security failures.
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