Health Minister Uriel Busso (Shas) on Wednesday blasted the Red Cross over its failures vis-à-vis the Israeli hostages being held by Hamas.
In a post on X, Busso wrote that the Red Cross is “ignoring with complete insensitivity requests to transfer and make available information to Magen David Adom regarding the safety of the hostages.”
“It is time to speak with a clear voice, Hamas is a terrorist organization that slaughtered and kidnapped women, children and the elderly. We need an organization that will protect and give hope to the families of the captives, and provide medical information. Any other conduct is consent and support for terrorism,” he added.
Since October 7, when Hamas carried out its massacre against Israel and abducted more than 240 people, the Red Cross has not visited the hostages.
Two weeks ago, Foreign Minister Eli Cohen, Busso and representatives of the families of the hostages met with Mirjana Spoljaric, president of the International Committee of the Red Cross, in Geneva and demanded that she ensure that the Red Cross visit the Israeli hostages held in Gaza and provide medical treatment to the hostages who need it.
Prior to that, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke to Spoljaric and demanded that the Red Cross seek the immediate release of the Israeli hostages, as required by international law.
The Prime Minister also demanded that the Red Cross uphold its right to immediately visit all the hostages to verify their safety and health.
The ceasefire agreement which saw Hamas release some of the hostages it was holding included a clause which was supposed to allow the International Committee of the Red Cross to visit the hostages who remain in captivity. This, however, has yet to happen.
Earlier this week, the daughter of Elma Avraham, an 84-year-old woman who was freed from Hamas captivity and taken to hospital in serious condition, said that the Red Cross refused to accept medication to pass to her mother.