Netanyahu Appeals to Red Cross After Videos Show Emaciated Israeli Hostages, Sparking Public Outcry

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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has sought the assistance of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to help hostages in Gaza, amidst growing outrage over videos revealing two of them in an emaciated state. Netanyahu announced on Sunday that he had spoken with the ICRC coordinator for the region, seeking their involvement to ensure food supply to the hostages along with urgent medical care.

Over recent days, Hamas and its ally Islamic Jihad have released three videos showing two hostages seized during the October 7 attack in 2023 on Israel that led to an escalation of 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 said.

Thousands rally in Tel Aviv

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 United Nations-mandated experts have warned a “famine is unfolding”.

The ICRC expressed being “appalled by the harrowing videos” through a statement, emphasizing their persistent appeal for access to the hostages. In reaction, the armed wing of Hamas indicated their willingness to grant the agency access to the hostages, contingent on the opening of “humanitarian corridors” for food and aid across all regions of the Gaza Strip.

Videos ‘expose the barbarity of Hamas’

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”.

Kallas said in the same post on X, “Hamas must disarm and end its rule in Gaza” — demands endorsed earlier this week by Arab countries, including key mediators Qatar and Egypt.

“Large-scale humanitarian aid must be allowed to reach those in need,” she said.

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.

The al-Qassam Brigades clarified that they did not deliberately starve the hostages, stating the hostages would not be given preferential food treatment “amid the crime of starvation and siege” occurring in Gaza. Meanwhile, families of the hostages convened in Tel Aviv on Saturday, advocating for a ceasefire and the initiation of a hostage release agreement, signifying the 666th day since the October 7 attacks.

There was no comment from the military.

On Sunday, Gaza’s civil defence agency reported that Israeli fire resulted in the deaths of nine Palestinians awaiting food rations from a site managed by the U.S. and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) near Rafah in the south. An additional five individuals lost their lives near a separate GHF aid site in central Gaza on the same day, while further Israeli assaults claimed five more lives elsewhere, according to civil defence spokesperson Mahmud Bassal.

‘Emaciated and desperate’

Braslavski and David are among the 49 hostages taken during Hamas’ 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.

Israel has bombarded Gaza since Hamas’ October 7 attack in 2023, in which more than 1,200 people, including an estimated 30 children, were killed and over 200 hostages taken, according to the Israeli government. More than 60,430 people have been killed in Gaza since October 7, according to the health ministry in Gaza.

The October 7 attack was a significant escalation in the long-standing conflict between Israel and Hamas.