Blinken emphasizes to Red Cross chief that access must be granted to Gaza hostages

9 December 2023, 5:00 pm

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Relatives and friends of hostages held in the Gaza Strip call for their release during the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah in the Hostages Square at the Museum of Art, in Tel Aviv, December 8, 2023. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) that the humanitarian organization must be allowed to visit the hostages in Gaza, the US State Department says.

According to the statement, Blinken “emphasized the importance of ICRC’s humanitarian response to the conflict in Gaza” in a conversation yesterday with ICRC President Mirjana Spoljaric Egger.

Blinken reiterated the call for the immediate release of all hostages and highlighted the need for the ICRC to be granted access to the remaining hostages, the US State Department says.

The ICRC has faced intense criticism in Israel and abroad for not doing more to push for access to the hostages held by terrorists in Gaza to ensure their well-being, deliver medications and facilitate communication with families, per its mandate.