Hamas Ready To Cooperate With ICRC Regarding Humanitarian Aid For Hostage

The helicopter used for the release of Israeli hostages. (Source: Israel Defense Forces)

JAKARTA - The Hamas armed wing group, the Al-Qassam Brigade, said it was ready to cooperate with the International Red Cross Committee (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, reported TASS Aug. 4.

"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."

Humanitarian assistance from international humanitarian organizations and the UN structure has not reached the Gaza Strip since March 2, when Israel closed all checkpoints.

Since May, Israel has implemented a new US-backed scheme to manage aid for Gaza's population, which practically diverts exclusive rights to establish distribution centers and provides food and essential goods to the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF).

According to the plan, all international organizations involved in aid efforts, including UN agencies, will be fully operational through the GHF.

Hamas leader in the Gaza Strip, Khalil al-Hayya said on July 27, further negotiations on the ceasefire in Gaza were useless amid the continuing blockade in the region.

Earlier, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the Israeli delegation to leave Qatar, where Gaza's settlement negotiations have been held since July 6, following Hamas' response to the ceasefire provisions.

On the same day, US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff announced on social media that Washington had decided to withdraw its negotiator from Doha, calling Hamas' position an indication of "lack of desire to reach a ceasefire in Gaza." Witkoff argued that another mediator allegedly had approved Hamas' response, calling it "constructive".