UN DK Planned To Hold Gaza Hostage Discussion Meeting On Tuesday

Israel hostage release. (Wikimedia Commons/IDF Spokesperson's Unit)

JAKARTA - The United Nations (UN) Security Council will hold an emergency session on hostages in Gaza on Tuesday, said Israel's Ambassador to the United Nations Danny Danon.

"Following my petition to the President of the UN Security Council, the council will hold this on Tuesday for a special emergency session on the dire situation of the hostages in Gaza," he tweeted in an upload on social media X.

The announcement comes amid anger over a video showing two hostages being dumped by the Hamas group in the Gaza Strip thin.

"It's time for the Security Council to explicitly condemn Hamas' barbaric act, which continues day by day, hour by hour," said Ambassador Danon.

On Saturday, Hamas released the second video of Israeli hostage Evyatar David in two days. The video shows thin, quoted by Reuters.

David's video drew criticism from Western powers and Israelis. France, Germany, Britain, and the United States are among the countries to express anger over it.

According to Israeli officials, 50 hostages are believed to be still in Gaza, with about 20 of them believed to be alive.

Hamas, so far, has banned humanitarian organizations from having any access to hostages and families having little or no details of their condition.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday he had asked the Red Cross to provide humanitarian assistance to the hostages during a conversation with the head of the Swiss-based local Red Cross Committee (ICRC).

A statement from the Hostage Family Forum, which represents relatives of those held in Gaza, said Hamas' comments about the hostages could not hide that it "has detained innocent people in inappropriate conditions for more than 660 days," demanding their immediate release.

"Until their release," the statement said, "Hamas have an obligation to give them all they need. Hamas kidnapped them and they had to take care of them. Every dead hostage will be in Hamas' hands."

Later, the armed wing group Hamas, Al-Qassam Brigade, said it was ready to cooperate with the ICRC regarding the distribution of humanitarian aid to the hostages.

"Brigade Al-Qassam is ready to engage positively and respond to any requests from the Red Cross to deliver food and medicine to the hostages," according to an armed wing spokesman Hamas Abu Ubaida, posted on the Hamas Telegram channel, TASS reported.

"Brigade Al-Qassam accidentally starving prisoners, but they eat what our mujahideen and the general public eat, and they will not receive any privilege amid the crime of hunger and siege," he stressed.

He stressed that Hamas insisted on "opening up humanitarian corridors normally and permanently for distributing food and medicine to all of our people throughout the Gaza Strip, and stopping all forms of enemy air activity during package deliveries to detainees."