Israeli Prime Minister Accuses Hamas of Obstructing Ceasefire Amid Emaciated Hostage Videos and Escalating Crisis in Gaza

The Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has accused Hamas of obstructing ceasefire negotiations and has requested the International Red Cross to deliver food and medical aid to hostages held in Gaza. This follows public outcry sparked by propaganda videos showcasing two emaciated Israeli captives.

Thousands gathered at a rally in Tel Aviv on Saturday evening, with protesters carrying signs reading “End the War” and “Leave No One Behind,” urging Netanyahu to secure a deal for the release of hostages still detained in Gaza.

Disturbing footage released by Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad last week depicted Evyatar David and Rom Braslavski in a weakened state, prompting international condemnation. French President Emmanuel Macron described the videos as “unbearable,” while German Chancellor Friedrich Merz stated that the images showed Hamas should not be part of Gaza’s future.

On Sunday, the International Red Cross (ICRC) in Israel and the Occupied Territories expressed outrage over the videos and urged an immediate end to the dire situation.

Netanyahu’s office revealed that he had contacted Julien Lerisson, head of the Red Cross delegation in the region, to request his involvement in providing immediate food and medical care for the hostages. The office also reiterated Netanyahu’s stance that widespread starvation is not occurring within the enclave, despite a UN-backed agency’s warning this week of a looming famine situation in Gaza.

Hamas has expressed readiness to “positively engage” with any Red Cross request for delivering food and medicine to hostages, but only under the condition that humanitarian corridors are established within Gaza.

While Hamas claims that the hostages’ weakened state reflects worsening conditions in the strip, previous freed hostages have also appeared emaciated upon release and reported experiencing malnutrition while in captivity.

Abu Obeida, a spokesman for Hamas’ military wing, al-Qassam Brigades, stated this weekend that the group does not intentionally starve hostages and that they consume the same food as Hamas fighters and the general Gaza population.

Malnutrition-related deaths in Gaza saw a spike in July, signaling an escalating hunger crisis, according to the World Health Organization. The agency reported alarming malnutrition rates, with over 5,000 children under five requiring outpatient treatment for malnutrition during the first two weeks of July alone.

In addition to the ongoing food crisis, Gazans face deadly risks when attempting to collect aid from distribution sites due to the frequent eruption of violent clashes. On Sunday, a shooting incident near an aid site in northern Gaza resulted in at least 13 fatalities and left dozens injured, according to the Emergency and Medical Services in Gaza.

Granting Red Cross access would represent a shift for Hamas, which has previously opposed any access to hostages by the humanitarian group. The ICRC, which has only facilitated previous hostage releases during the conflict, stated in March that it was “hugely disappointing” not to have visited any hostages yet, emphasizing that the lack of progress was not due to a lack of effort.

Recent ceasefire negotiations have yielded little progress, with Israeli and US negotiators withdrawing from talks last month. At the time, US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff attributed the stalemate to poor coordination and Hamas’ “lack of desire to reach a ceasefire.”

On Sunday, Netanyahu suggested that Hamas was acting in bad faith based on the latest images of captives. “When I see this, I understand exactly what Hamas wants. They don’t want a deal; they want to break us with these horrifying videos, with the false horror propaganda they’re spreading around the world,” Netanyahu stated.

Netanyahu is now pursuing the release of hostages through military action (against Hamas), a strategy that the hostages’ families have repeatedly cautioned against.

According to polling released by the Israel Democracy Institute during a ceasefire period in March, over 70% of Israelis support negotiating with Hamas for an end to the fighting and an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza in exchange for the release of the remaining hostages. Fifty hostages remain in Gaza, at least 20 of whom are believed to be alive.

The families of the hostages have repeatedly urged Netanyahu to secure a deal, warning that Red Cross assistance alone will not be sufficient and that further escalation of the conflict in Gaza could endanger the remaining hostages’ lives.

“Netanyahu is planning the greatest deception of all. The repeated claims of freeing hostages through military victory are a lie and a public fraud,” Israel’s Hostages and Missing Families Forum stated on Sunday.

The group also denounced Hamas, stating that it “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.”

Hamas publicly maintains its commitment to hostage release negotiations but only if conditions in Gaza improve first. The group recently ceased engaging in any discussions regarding a ceasefire or the release of hostages, according to two sources familiar with the matter who spoke to CNN last week.

“It is essential to improve the catastrophic humanitarian situation significantly and to obtain a written response from the enemy regarding our response,” Basem Naim, a senior Hamas political official, also told CNN. “This is a condition to go back to negotiations.”