Defying the Exchange Agreement Hamas Won’t Let Red Cross Visit the Hostage

[Guno צְבִי]

According to the London-based and Qatar-affiliated Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, Hamas will not allow the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to visit the Israeli hostages. This constitutes a violation of the Hamas hostage deal with Israel. According to the report, Hamas will notify the Red Cross of the hostages’ situation and health condition, but won’t allow direct interaction.

The section about the Red Cross visits of the hostages who will not be released in the initial phase was included in the agreement and approved by all the parties. The guarantor countries of the agreement – Qatar, the US, and Egypt – are obliged to verify its full implementation.

https://www.jewishpress.com/news/ey...t-let-red-cross-visit-the-hostage/2023/11/24/

 

[Guno צְבִי]

The Wall Street Journal and Al-Araby Al-Jadeed reported on Thursday that the main reason for the sudden delay in carrying out the exchanges had to do with Hamas’s reneging on the ICRC visits.

There are several speculations about the reason for Hamas’s refusal to let the ICRC visit the hostages. An Egyptian source told Al-Araby Al-Jadeed that the Hamas policy is that Israel must pay separately for every gesture, which includes the visits. Another reason could be that the remaining hostages, especially the soldiers, are dead, and Hamas wants to keep their deaths a secret to be able to use their release in future negotiations.