Urgent Security Council Meeting: A Cry for Hostages and a Plea to Aid Gaza

The United Nations Security Council is set to hold an urgent meeting this Tuesday to discuss the dire humanitarian situation of hostages held in the Gaza Strip. This development follows a request from Israel and comes amid growing international concern over the fate of these individuals, with experts warning that the population of Gaza faces an imminent risk of famine.

The Israeli Ambassador to the UN, Danny Danon, announced the emergency session on social media platforms. The decision was prompted by the widespread shock in Israel caused by videos released from Gaza showing two Israeli hostages in a visibly weakened state. Danon stressed that the meeting would be specifically dedicated to the "deteriorating humanitarian situation of the hostages in Gaza."

Hamas and Islamic Jihad, the groups that released the videos, stated that their purpose was to highlight the severe humanitarian crisis in the Strip, which the UN warns is on the brink of famine. The videos, showing hostages Rom Braslavsky and Evyatar David looking thin and exhausted, have intensified public pressure in Israel for an urgent deal to secure their release.

The humanitarian crisis in Gaza is exacerbated by the strict restrictions imposed by Israel on the entry of aid. UN agencies and relief organizations report that most of the aid that does enter the Strip fails to reach those in need, as it is often looted by gangs or seized amidst the prevailing chaos. In response to this situation, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu requested that the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) help provide "food" and "medical care" for the Israeli hostages.

In a related development, the Al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, expressed its willingness to cooperate positively with any ICRC request to deliver food and medicine to the hostages. However, this cooperation is conditional on the opening of safe humanitarian corridors for the delivery of food and medicine to all residents of the Gaza Strip. The Al-Qassam Brigades affirmed that it is not deliberately starving the hostages, stating that living Israeli hostages "eat what our fighters and our people eat, and will not receive special privileges in light of the crime of starvation and blockade" imposed on the Strip.