'Hamas has obligation': Hostage forum skeptical on Hamas promise to allow aid to reach hostages

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Hamas is ready to deliver Red Cross aid to the hostages it is holding in Gaza if Israel opens humanitarian corridors permanently.

The Hostages and Missing Families Forum responded skeptically to Hamas’s Sunday evening claim that the terror group would allow the Red Cross to deliver aid to the hostages.

“Hamas's announcement about their willingness to cooperate with the Red Cross to deliver food to hostages cannot hide the fact that we are dealing with an evil terrorist organization that has been holding innocent people in impossible conditions for over 660 days,” the forum said.

“We demand the immediate release of all 50 hostages. Until their release, Hamas has the obligation to provide them with everything they need. Hamas kidnapped them, and they must care for them. Every hostage who dies will be on Hamas's hands.”

Hamas's Izzadin al-Qassam Brigades is ready to deliver Red Cross aid to the hostages it is holding in Gaza if Israel opens humanitarian corridors permanently and halts "all forms of air traffic" during the delivery of packages to the hostages, the terror group's spokesperson said earlier.

Hamas made the statement after the terror group, along with Palestinian Islamic Jihad, published videos showing emaciated hostages. The terror group was widely condemned after the video of Evyatar David captured the arm of a terrorist, which did not appear emaciated in contrast to the captive.

Demands for immediate hostage release

As referenced by the forum, calls for the Red Cross to visit the hostages have gone unanswered throughout the war. Efforts to ensure hostages were given their medication through the Red Cross were thwarted by Hamas.

“They may not survive the next few days without immediate help,” the forum asserted. “These heartbreaking images reveal hostages who are starving while their captors remain well-fed.”

The forum also stressed that while the transfer of resources through the Red Cross was a “welcome” possibility, “only the immediate release of all hostages can truly save their lives.”