Family members of some Israeli hostages taken by Hamas into Gaza Strip have slammed the Benjamin Netanyahu government for allowing aid to the besieged enclave after the United States said that Egypt has agreed to reopen the Rafah border with Gaza.
“The decision to allow humanitarian aid to the murderers of Gaza has caused great anger among the family members,” the Bring Them Home Now organisation, formed to represent families of those kidnapped, said in a statement, reported the Times of Israel.
“We remind you that children, babies, women, soldiers, men and the elderly — some of whom have serious health issues, are wounded and shot — are being held underground like animals without any human conditions, and the government of Israel is treating the murderers to baklava and medicine,” the group said.
After shutting off supplies to Gaza following the October 7 surprise attack by Hamas in Israel and subsequent bombing on the Rafah Border, the lone crossing between Egypt and Gaza Strip will be reopened for humanitarian aid to reach Palestine.
Following the Hamas attacks, the Israeli Defence Forces had said that they notified 199 families about a member of their family being taken hostage by Hamas.
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As per a report by NBC News Wednesday, Hamas has said it was ready to release those women and children it had held captive. A Hamas official told NBC News that the group is willing to immediately release all civilian hostages — foreign and Israeli — if Israel stops its airstrikes on Gaza.
The official said that the hostages could be released within the hour as long as Israel meets its terms, claiming that there is no safe place to release them now.
The group has also admitted that it does not have the custody of all the hostages seized after it launched surprise attacks on Israel on October 7, according to a diplomat with knowledge of the talks.
As per the report, some of the hostages were held by Palestinian Islamic Jihad while others are held by “random Gaza citizen opportunists,” said the former US official. Hamas, which controls Gaza, is trying to gain custody of the captives but says it cannot amid continued bombing.