Hamas official says no hostage releases without fuel for Gaza
- Hamas is holding more than 220 hostages from the October 7 cross-border attack on Israel
- Hamas official calls for medical supplies, fuel to be delivered into the besieged Gaza Strip
A Hamas official warned that no more hostages would be released from the Gaza Strip unless fuel is allowed into the besieged territory, even as Gaza continued to get pounded by Israeli air strikes.
Hamas, designated as a terrorist group by the EU and the US, is holding at least 222 hostages in the Gaza Strip, many thought to be kept in the territory’s extensive network of tunnels.
“For humanitarian reasons, we have released four [hostages] without conditions, but if anyone seeks to have more releases, we have to insist that the international community exert more pressure on Israel to open Rafah crossing to allow fuel and medical supplies to come inside Gaza,” Osama Hamdan, Hamas politburo member and representative in Lebanon, told dpa.
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Humanitarian crisis unfolding in Gaza as food supplies run out after total Israeli blockade
Hamdan, who is close to the hostage negotiations, said that it is a basic right of the Palestinian people to be allowed to have hospital treatment given that they are subjected daily to Israeli air raids.
