Netanyahu asks Red Cross for help after 'profound shock' of Gaza hostage videos
The premier's office said he spoke to the ICRC coordinator for the region, Julien Lerisson, and "requested his involvement in providing food to our hostages and... immediate medical treatment".
The ICRC said in a statement it was "appalled by the harrowing videos" and reiterated its "call to be granted access to the hostages".
In response, Hamas's armed wing said it would allow the agency access to the hostages but only if "humanitarian corridors" for food and aid were opened "across all areas of the Gaza Strip".
The Al-Qassam Brigades said it did "not intentionally starve" the hostages, but they would not receive any special food privileges "amid the crime of starvation and siege" in Gaza.
Over recent days, Hamas and its ally Islamic Jihad have released three videos showing two hostages seized during the 7 October 2023 attack on Israel that triggered the ongoing war.
The images of Rom Braslavski and Evyatar David, both of whom appeared weak and malnourished, have fuelled renewed calls in Israel for a truce and hostage release deal.
A statement from Netanyahu's office on Saturday said he had spoken with the families of the two hostages and "expressed profound shock over the materials distributed by the terror organisations".
Netanyahu "told the families that the efforts to return all our hostages are ongoing", the statement added.
Earlier in the day, tens of thousands of people had rallied in the coastal hub of Tel Aviv to call on Netanyahu's government to secure the release of the remaining captives.
There was particular outrage in Israel over images of David, who appeared to be digging what he said in the staged video was his own grave.
The videos make references to the dire humanitarian conditions in Gaza, where UN-mandated experts have warned a "famine is unfolding".
An emergency session on the "dire situation of the hostages" will be convened by the UN Security Council on Tuesday, Israel's UN ambassador said Sunday in a post on X.
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said the images "are appalling and expose the barbarity of Hamas", calling for the release of "all hostages... immediately and unconditionally".
'HAMAS MUST DISARM'
Kallas said in the same post on X that "Hamas must disarm and end its rule in Gaza" - demands endorsed earlier this week by Arab countries, including key mediators Qatar and Egypt.
She added that "large-scale humanitarian aid must be allowed to reach those in need".
Israel has heavily restricted the entry of aid into Gaza, while UN agencies, humanitarian groups and analysts say that much of what Israel does allow in is looted or diverted in chaotic circumstances.
Many desperate Palestinians are left to risk their lives seeking what aid is distributed through controlled channels.
On Sunday, Gaza's civil defence agency said Israeli fire killed nine Palestinians who were waiting to collect food rations from a site operated by the US- and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) near the southern city of Rafah.
"The soldiers opened fire on people. I was there, no one posed any threat" to the Israeli forces, 31-year-old witness Jabr al-Shaer told AFP by phone.
There was no comment from the military.
Five more people were killed near a different GHF aid site in central Gaza on Sunday, while Israeli attacks elsewhere killed another five people, said civil defence spokesperson Mahmud Bassal.
'EMACIATED AND DESPERATE'
Braslavski and David are among the 49 hostages taken during Hamas's 2023 attack who are still being held in Gaza, including 27 the Israeli military says are dead.
Most of the 251 hostages seized in the attack were released during two short-lived truces, some in exchange for Palestinians in Israeli custody.
Hamas's 2023 attack resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.
Israel's campaign in Gaza has killed at least 60,430 people, also mostly civilians, according to figures from the Hamas-run territory's health ministry, which are deemed reliable by the UN.
The Palestine Red Crescent Society said one of its staff members was killed in an Israeli attack on its Khan Yunis headquarters, in southern Gaza.
Contacted by AFP, the Israeli military said it was "not aware of a strike" in that area.
Media restrictions and difficulties accessing many areas mean AFP cannot independently verify tolls and details provided by various parties.
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IOL News
16 hours ago
- IOL News
Rebuilding a devastated Mariupol under Russia's thumb
People enjoy a beach in the Russian-controlled port city of Mariupol in southeastern Ukraine, with Mariupol commercial port seen in distance. Russia captured Mariupol after a weeks-long siege of the city in the first weeks of its 2022 military offensive on Ukraine. Thousands of civilians were killed. Image: Olga MALTSEVA / AFP Sun-seekers crowded onto the beach in Mariupol in Russian-controlled eastern Ukraine - a devastated city which Moscow wants to turn into an improbable seaside resort. "Take a dip in the Sea of Azov!" said 52-year-old local Ivan, who like other beachgoers lapped up the good weather and mild waters of a coastline that is now entirely Russian-held. "Mariupol was, is and will be Russian," said the man, whose name has been changed. The slogan is the same one repeatedly put forward by Moscow, which took the city in May 2022 after a long siege. Exiled Ukrainian city officials say 22 000 civilians died in the Russian offensive and the UN estimates 90 percent of Mariupol's housing was damaged or destroyed. Some 300 000 of the predominantly Russian-speaking city's pre-conflict population of 540 000 has fled, the exiled authorities estimate. President Vladimir Putin quickly hailed what he called the liberation of Mariupol, while Kyiv and the majority of the international community denounce it as an occupation. In September 2022, Russia announced the annexation of four Ukrainian regions including Donetsk where Mariupol is located - even though it does not fully control the areas. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Next Stay Close ✕ People visit the Zhdanov Museum, the institution dedicated to Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin's henchman Andrei Zhdanov (1896-1948), a Mariupol native responsible for setting Soviet cultural policy and one of the architects of Stalin's repressions, in the Russian-controlled Azov Sea port city of Mariupol. Image: Olga MALTSEVA / AFP Across Ukraine, the resistence put up by its forces in the city during the early weeks of Russia's military offensive has become a symbol of resilience. The city defenders, particularly the soldiers and civilians who held out during the last days of the siege of the Azovstal steelworks, are hailed as heroes. Russia in 2022 promised to rebuild the city within three years, hoping to showcase Mariupol as a symbol of its ability to bring prosperity to parts of Ukraine it controls. But Denis Kochubey, the city's exiled deputy mayor, said Moscow's reconstruction is just "a large-scale propaganda project." The building work is "aimed at erasing the memory" of Russia's actions in Mariupol by "showing that they have brought development". In the city, AFP reporters saw cement mixers operating at various construction sites. Russian military vehicles also went back and forth from the front line, about two hours' drive away. A woman walks past a "Mak Fly" restaurant, which serves burgers and fries, on Lenin Avenue in the Russian-controlled Azov Sea port city of Mariupol. Image: Olga MALTSEVA / AFP At the entrance to Mariupol, behind the sprawling hulk of Azovstal, stand some new apartment blocks. Galina Giller, a pensioner, was given a one-bedroom flat for free by the Moscow-installed authorities in May 2024. "They wrote to me saying I would get an apartment without any preconditions. They gave us the keys, we came to see it and I ordered furniture," the 67-year-old widow said. Giller fled the fighting in 2022 initially to nearby Donetsk, then to Crimea - another Ukrainian region that was annexed by Russia in 2014. "I am terribly sad for the ordinary people," she said. Like all the inhabitants who agreed to speak to AFP, Giller, who said she has Cossack and Greek roots, is a native Russian speaker. She still has Ukrainian citizenship but recently also received a Russian passport. 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"I don't see any occupation here. I can travel freely on Russian territory," said Renald, 33, who wore a t-shirt with the log of Wagner, a former mercenary group that fought on the Russian side against Ukraine. Like most of the residents willing to speak to a foreign media outlet, Renald did not want to give his surname. Elena, beauty parlour worker who left the city of Yekaterinburg in the Urals to buy a house in Mariupol last year. Image: Olga MALTSEVA / AFP Those who oppose Russian control of the city prefer to stay silent - or have long left Mariupol. The risk of being imprisoned is high with Russia cracking down on dissent. Authorities regularly arrest and give long prison sentences to people accused of "collaborating" with Kyiv. And people accused of "discrediting" the Russian army get jailed. One ex-resident, Tetiana, who spoke to AFP from outside Ukraine, said she feared "something bad" would happen if she went back, after criticising Moscow over the destruction of the city. In central Mariupol, many buildings have been restored. Cafes and supermarkets are open and the bars draw clients by blasting out techno beats. On Lenin Avenue, a "Mak Fly" restaurant serves burgers and fries. Authorities are also rebuilding the bombed-out theatre -- which Ukraine says was targeted despite being used as a shelter for civilians and with the word "children" scrawled on the courtyard in giant Russian letters. A Russian serviceman guards the entrance to the Ilyich Iron and Steel Works in Mariupol. The banner on top bears portraits of (L-R) head of Russia's Chechen Republic Ramzan Kadyrov, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Moscow-installed head of the Donetsk region, Russian-controlled Ukraine, Denis Pushilin, and reads "Our strength is in unity!". Russia captured Mariupol after a weeks-long siege of the city. Image: Olga MALTSEVA / AFP According to Amnesty International, the March 2022 strike killed "at least a dozen people and likely many more". The Russian-appointed city authorities ignored numerous AFP requests to comment on the reconstruction. One of the most visible signs of Russian control was the inauguration this year of the Zhdanov Museum by decree from Putin. Set up on the site of a museum about local folklore, the institution is dedicated to henchman Andrei Zhdanov (1896-1948), a Mariupol native responsible for setting Soviet cultural policy and one of the architects of Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin's repression. Under the Soviet Union, Mariupol was known as Zhdanov between 1948 and 1989. Museum director Pavel Ignatev rejected accusations against his hero, saying that "historians... never found a document with the signature of Andrei Alexandrovich Zhdanov that authorised any kind of repression, execution or expulsion". Outside the city centre, there are quiet roads with houses gutted by the fighting. Some doors still have bullet holes and signs in Russian saying "Children", "Residents" or "Bodies". Mariupol is still far from becoming the seaside resort Moscow wants. AFP reporters noted frequent power and water cuts in the city. Sergei, 52, who builds advertising billboards, meets with AFP reporters at his partially destroyed city centre house, which was hit by two missiles in 2022. Image: Olga MALTSEVA / AFP Sergei, 52, lives with his dogs in a rundown house -- partly destroyed in the siege -- where weeds sprouted up in the garden. Sergei, who builds advertising billboards, said he had been to see local authorities three times to ask for compensation "but they themselves had no idea". "There were a lot of people there in the same situation as me who went to bother them with all sorts of questions," he said with a sigh. He abandoned his search. In independent and international media, there have been multiple allegations of corruption over the vast sums being poured into Mariupol's reconstruction. City authorities in exile said that the Russian-installed municipality is making lists of "ownerless" homes and apartments of residents who fled. The lists are sent to courts which give the property to people who stayed and whose housing was destroyed during the 2022 siege. Luisa Nalivay, director of the Mariupol branch of the real estate agent Ayax, boasted that her firm "has been present in Mariupol since the first day after the end of the fighting". She said the price per square metre of new housing has jumped from 85 000 rubles (R18 500) in 2022 to 200 000 rubles (R45 000) now. Nalivay said the rise was due to the low interest rate of just two percent on mortgages offered by Moscow to Russians who move to Mariupol. The rate can rise to more than 20 percent in Russia. Nalivay said "many people" from Russian regions wanted to move to Mariupol. "There are people who come for work, fall in love with the city and its mild climate and decide to move here with their families," she said. She said the air quality has been particularly good since the "metal works are currently stopped".
Eyewitness News
a day ago
- Eyewitness News
Netanyahu says Israel must complete defeat of Hamas to free hostages
JERUSALEM - Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday that Israel must "complete" the defeat of Hamas in Gaza to secure the release of the remaining hostages, days ahead of a cabinet meeting to discuss an updated war plan. Recent footage of weak and emaciated captives has sparked outrage in Israel, while UN experts also warn of an unfolding famine for Palestinians in Gaza. Israeli media have said the premier is considering ordering the total occupation of Gaza, even as international pressure mounts for him to end the war, with a senior UN official warning Tuesday that expanding the fighting risked "catastrophic consequences". "It is necessary to complete the defeat of the enemy in Gaza, to free all our hostages and to ensure that Gaza will no longer pose a threat to Israel," Netanyahu said during a visit to an army training facility. His office later said he had held a three-hour "security discussion" with army chief Eyal Zamir, but did not disclose any new war plans. The premier's office has said the security cabinet will convene later in the week to approve new instructions. Citing cabinet members, public broadcaster Kan said Netanyahu had "decided to extend the fight to areas where hostages might be held". But some major media outlets such as Channel 12 have suggested that the rumoured expansion of operations might only be a negotiating tactic. While the reported plan has not been approved, it has already drawn angry reactions from the Palestinian Authority and Gaza's Hamas-run government. Hamas insisted such a move would not shift its position in ceasefire talks, demanding the withdrawal of all forces from Gaza. "The ball is in the hands of... (Israel) and the Americans," senior Hamas official Hossam Badran told AFP, adding that the militant group wanted to "end the war and the famine". UN assistant secretary-general Miroslav Jenca told the Security Council on Tuesday that a widening of the war "would risk catastrophic consequences for millions of Palestinians and could further endanger the lives of the remaining hostages". Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar was also in New York attending a Security Council meeting on the plight of the hostages. US President Donald Trump on Tuesday expressed disgust over the videos released by Hamas, one of which showed an emaciated Israeli hostage purportedly digging his own grave. "I hope a lot of people do get to see it, as bad as it is, because I think it's a horrible thing," Trump told reporters. 'AGREEMENT MUST BE REACHED' Over the war's 22 months, Israeli forces have devastated large parts of the Gaza Strip, where a humanitarian crisis has taken hold. The war was sparked by Hamas's 7 October 2023 attack, which resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to a tally based on official figures. Palestinian militants also seized 251 hostages, 49 of whom remain held in Gaza including 27 the Israeli military says are dead. The Israeli offensive has killed at least 61,020 Palestinians, according to the Gaza health ministry. Netanyahu has faced growing pressure on several fronts. Domestically, families of hostages are demanding a ceasefire to bring their loved ones home. And around the world, there are increasing calls for a truce to allow food into a starving Gaza. The International Committee of the Red Cross on Tuesday said it was "ready to bring in medicine, food and family news for the hostages in Gaza", and to "scale up the delivery of life-saving aid safely to civilians". But "to do this, an agreement must be reached between Israel and Hamas." Meanwhile, Netanyahu's far-right coalition partners demand to keep fighting and reoccupy Gaza for the long haul, after Israel withdrew settlers and troops stationed there two decades ago. AID 'EXPLOITED' Israel imposed a total blockade on Gaza in early March, which it only began easing more than two months later to allow a US-backed private agency, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), to open food distribution centres. United Nations special rapporteurs called on Tuesday for the GHF to be immediately dismantled, saying aid was being "exploited for covert military and geopolitical agendas". COGAT, the Israeli defence ministry body overseeing civil affairs in the Palestinian territories, said it would partially reopen private sector trade with Gaza to reduce its reliance on aid deliveries. On the ground in Gaza, the civil defence agency said Israeli forces killed at least 56 Palestinians who were waiting near aid distribution sites on Tuesday. The Israeli military told AFP troops had "fired warning shots" in the direction "a gathering of Gazans advancing" towards them near one of those sites, in the territory's south, but that it was "not aware of any casualties". In northern Gaza, where the civil defence said 20 people were killed not far from an aid crossing, an AFP journalist saw bodies brought to Hamad Hospital. The army told AFP it was looking into the report.
The Citizen
a day ago
- The Citizen
History will not be kind to Netanyahu
Netanyahu is leading his people into the darkness of perpetual shame, much as Adolph Hitler did 80 years ago. History is not going to be kind to Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has finally removed the mask on his ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian people. Even as more and more people around the world are calling the slaughter in Gaza what it is – a genocide – Netanyahu is doubling down, promising a new occupation of the territory to destroy Hamas and rescue the Israeli hostages taken on that awful day on 7 October, 2023. With a death toll at 60 000 and climbing as hunger stalks the ruins of Gaza, Netanyahu and his supporters are talking about a 'total conquest' of the strip. Yet, amid that insanity, there are Israeli voices – including from experienced retired military personnel and hostage families – pleading with their prime minister for a ceasefire. ALSO READ: Israel poised to order new Gaza war plan Some wonder whether Netanyahu needs the war to avoid the uncomfortable reality of domestic politics, where his position is far from solid. And if the Israelis succeed in conquering Gaza, how long will it be before they formalise and expand their illegal seizure of Palestinian lands and homes in the occupied West Bank? Netanyahu is leading his people into the darkness of perpetual shame, much as Adolph Hitler did 80 years ago.
