2023-12-19 17:51:38
Israel is ready for a new pause in fighting in exchange for the release of more hostages. This was stated by Israeli President Isaac Herzog speaking to a group of ambassadors from 80 countries, according to the Times of Israel.
Yesterday the al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, released a video relaunched by al-Jazeera of three elderly and sick Israeli hostages.
“I can reiterate the fact that Israel is ready for another humanitarian pause and more humanitarian aid to enable the release of the hostages,” the Israeli president told the ambassadors, underlining that “the responsibility lies solely in the hands of Sinwar and the leadership of Hamas”.
Herzog also emphasized Israel’s humanitarian efforts, urging international organizations to do more to deliver aid to Gaza. “The amount of humanitarian aid can be tripled instantly,” he said, arguing that the Israelis have been inspecting hundreds of trucks a day at the Nitzana crossing, but the UN and other groups have not kept up the pace of shipments, leading to the entry of only 100-125 trucks per day.
“You can easily triple the amount of trucks if there was an effort on the part of the UN and its partners, the world must know that we could have had tens of thousands of tons more aid in Gaza,” Herzog said again.
The UN disputed these claims, saying Israeli bombing had made the safe delivery of aid very difficult. The United States also explained that the slowdown in aid entry was due to Israel’s refusal to reopen the Kerem Shalom crossing. Which the Americans convinced the Israelis to do, so that on Sunday, for the first time since the start of the truce, 200 aid trucks entered Gaza.
The statement from the Israeli presidency, which reported the meeting between Herzog and the ambassadors, concludes by stating that the “president stressed that Israel is not at war with the Palestinian people, but is fighting its enemies, the terrorist organization Hamas.” .
The video of the three hostages
In the video, one of the three hostages speaks, introducing himself as 79-year-old Halem Bery, from the Nir Oz kibbutz. “I am here with a group of other elderly people, they all have chronic diseases and live in very harsh conditions,” declares Bery, adding immediately after that “we are the generation that built the foundations for the creation of Israel and we are the ones who gave the start of the IDF”, the Israeli Defense Forces.
“We don’t understand why we were abandoned here. You must free us, no matter the cost”, continues the elderly man, underlining that “we don’t want to be killed as a direct result of an IDF air attack”. Reiterating the request to be released “unconditionally”, Bery concludes with an appeal: “Don’t let us grow old here.”
The spokesman for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), Daniel Hagari, spoke of “atrocious terrorism”. “It shows the cruelty of Hamas against elderly, innocent civilians in need of medical care. The world must work to allow medical care and check their conditions,” he said during a press conference. “Haim, Yoram and Amiram – added the spokesperson, addressing the three hostages in the video by name – I hope you can hear me this evening. Know that we are doing everything we can to bring you home safely. We will not stop until you return”.
Read also
#Ready #break #exchange #release #hostages