The United Nations has called on terror group Hamas to release hostages while requesting that Israel allow aid to flow into Gaza.
“As we are on the verge of the abyss in the Middle East, I have two humanitarian appeals: To Hamas, the hostages must be immediately released without conditions. To Israel, rapid & unimpeded access for humanitarian aid must be granted for the sake of the civilians in Gaza,” U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in an Oct. 16 post on X. “Each one of these two objectives are valid in themselves. They should not become bargaining chips and they must be implemented because it is the right thing to do.”
The Israeli ministry has confirmed that 199 hostages are being held in Gaza by Hamas, higher than earlier estimates. The hostages, which include elderly people and babies, were taken captive by terrorists during the attack on Oct. 7. The Hamas breach has resulted in the killings of over 1,400 Israelis.
In retaliation, Israel carried out a bombardment of Gaza and has imposed a strict blockade of food, water, and power until all hostages are freed.
In an Oct. 15 statement, Mr. Guterres said that Gaza is “running out of water, electricity, and other essential supplies.”
The United Nations has prepared stocks of food, water, medical supplies, fuel, and other nonfood items in Egypt, the West Bank, Jordan, and Israel. Though these goods can be dispatched “within hours,” volunteers need safe passage to bring supplies into and throughout Gaza, he said.
Americans Being Held
In an interview with UN News, Lynn Hastings, the United Nations Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for the Occupied Palestinian Territory, said that the organization hasn’t yet been able to “reach an agreement” with Israel about sending in supplies to Gazans.
“Israel is connecting humanitarian assistance into Gaza with the release of the hostages,” she said.
In an Oct. 16 X post, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) posted pictures of U.N. aid being used by terrorists.
“Humanitarian aid for the purpose of terrorism: @UNICEF first aid kits were used by Hamas jihadists during their raid on Israeli towns on October 7–where over 1,300 Israelis were murdered, thousands more were wounded.”
Palestinians flee from northern Gaza to the south after the Israeli army issued an unprecedented evacuation warning to a population of over 1 million people in northern Gaza and Gaza City to seek refuge in the south ahead of a possible Israeli ground invasion on Oct. 13, 2023. (Hatem Moussa/AP Photo)
There are several Americans among the hostages. The U.S. government is engaging with Israel to rescue the hostages, President Joe Biden said last week. However, White House national security spokesman John Kirby said to reporters on Oct. 12 that the administration has no plans to send U.S. troops to Israel.
In a statement on Sunday, the State Department said that “at this time, we can confirm the deaths of 30 U.S. citizens.” In addition, 13 Americans are missing. Authorities have been in touch with their families.
“The U.S. government is working around the clock to determine their whereabouts and is working with the Israeli government on every aspect of the hostage crisis, including sharing intelligence and deploying experts from across the United States government to advise the Israeli government on hostage recovery efforts,” it said.
Hamas Blocking Fleeing Citizens
Israel is now preparing for a ground invasion of Gaza. On Oct. 13, the IDF ordered civilians in northern Gaza to evacuate ahead of the invasion. However, Hamas is reportedly not allowing Gazans to flee.
On Sunday, the IDF released a phone call reportedly between an intelligence officer and a resident from Gaza, in which the resident complained that Hamas is confiscating people’s personal belongings, including their IDs and car keys, to prevent them from heading south toward safety.
“This is further evidence that the Hamas terrorist organization is actively preventing Palestinians from evacuating south in order to protect themselves,” the IDF said.
Palestinians flee from northern Gaza to the south after the Israeli army issued an unprecedented evacuation warning to a population of over 1 million people in northern Gaza and Gaza City to seek refuge in the south ahead of a possible Israeli ground operation on Oct. 13, 2023. (Hatem Moussa/AP Photo)
In an Oct. 15 update, Jonathan Conricus, IDF lieutenant colonel in the reserves, confirmed that “Hamas has both issued warnings to their civilians not to evacuate and when people didn’t listen to those warnings of Hamas, they have actually stopped civilians. And they have stopped convoys of Gazan civilians trying to flee from the situation and listening to our warnings.”
“If that isn’t the most sinister and vile use of civilians during war, I don’t know what is,“ he said. ”But it again goes to show the lack of any value for human life with a terrorist organization.”
Lt. Col. Conricus said that the Israeli military is deployed along the Gaza strip and “preparing ourselves for the next stage of operations.”
“We again call on the people of Northern Gaza, Gaza City, and all the northern environment in this area here to go south. Listen to our warnings. We are saying that there’s going to be significant military activities here and we urge the civilians to evacuate for their own safety. ... In the bigger picture of things, who is on the right side, who is trying to do the right thing, and who is cynically using civilians and civilian infrastructure time and again for the vile purposes? We are trying to do the right thing.”
The next stage of Israeli military operations in Gaza will be “enhanced operations against Hamas” that will continue “until we will dismantle Hamas and its military capabilities,” he said.
