“Newspaper reported”The Times of IsraelSome family members of Israelis held by Hamas in Gaza “were angry,” on Wednesday, after Benjamin Netanyahu’s government decided to allow the transfer of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip via Egypt “without obtaining any concessions” on behalf of their kidnapped relatives.
The “Bring Them Home Now” organization, which was formed to represent the families of the kidnapped, said in a statement: “The decision to allow humanitarian aid to be provided to the killers in Gaza sparked great anger among the family members of the kidnapped.”
She continued: “We remind you that children, infants, women, soldiers and elderly men, some of whom suffer from serious health problems, are detained underground (…) without any humanitarian conditions, while the government allows aid to be delivered to the killers.”
The Israeli government said on Wednesday that it would not prevent aid from entering Gaza from Egypt, but that supplies would not be allowed to reach Hamas, after talks with US President Joe Biden, who called for alleviating the humanitarian crisis in the Strip.
The Israeli newspaper pointed out that the “Bring Them Home Now” organization does not represent all family members of those believed to be kidnapped in Gaza, but it is the largest organization that brings them together.
Egypt, the only country that shares a border with the Gaza Strip other than Israel, stores aid on its side of the border, but the trucks were unable to cross, amid intense Israeli air strikes.
After Hamas launched a major attack on Israeli territory on October 7, Israel said it would impose a “total siege” on the crowded Strip, which is inhabited by 2.3 million people, cutting off electricity supplies and halting the flow of food and fuel.
The United Nations warned of a “humanitarian catastrophe,” announcing earlier Wednesday that nearly 100 aid trucks were needed daily to rehabilitate Gaza in the wake of the Israeli attacks.
There are 199 Israelis and dual nationals kidnapped by Hamas in Gaza, since the October 7 attack, according to the Israeli army.
The families represented by the organization threatened that “if this terrible decision to aid the killers of Gaza is not cancelled, the families will intensify their struggle in the near future.” The group did not specify what future steps it might take.
Families of the kidnapped people and their sympathizers held regular protests near Kiriya’s military headquarters in Tel Aviv, demanding that the government take action to rescue their loved ones.
Several members of the group also strongly criticized Netanyahu and the current government in media interviews, according to the Israeli newspaper.
Israel launched raids on Gaza and announced the imposition of a siege on it following the bloodiest attack on civilians in the country’s history, which was carried out by Hamas on October 7.
The attack launched by Hamas, which targeted civilians in addition to military headquarters, resulted in the killing of hundreds and the kidnapping of dozens, most of them civilians, including children and women.
The number of Israeli deaths as a result of the Hamas attack, which is classified as a terrorist organization, reached more than 1,400 people.
The Israeli response, which targeted large areas of Gaza, also resulted in the deaths of hundreds, most of them civilians, including children and women.
On Wednesday, the Palestinian Ministry of Health said that at least 3,478 Palestinians had been killed and 12,000 injured in Gaza in Israeli strikes since October 7.
2023-10-19 06:02:06
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