Foreign minister, hostages’ family members meets Red Cross chief in Geneva

Foreign Minister Eli Cohen is meeting with president of the International Committee of the Red Cross Mirjana Spoljaric Egger in Geneva, Switzerland, to discuss the plight of Israelis and foreign nationals held hostage by Hamas in Gaza.

Several family members of the hostages are attending the meeting.

Cohen will also meet with the head of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, who last week highlighted what he described as a dire humanitarian situation in Gaza during a briefing to the UN Security Council.

The foreign minister will show the WHO director-general evidence of Hamas using hospitals and medical facilities in Gaza as a platform for attacking Israel and holding the hostages there, and demand he unequivocally condemn the terror group for such practices.

Cohen will also brief foreign ambassadors to the United Nations Office at Geneva on the international efforts to free the hostages during the course of his visit.

On Monday, Cohen said international pressure was beginning to increase on Israel and that private requests had already been made to him by senior foreign diplomats for Israel to seek a ceasefire.

Asked “what the diplomatic window is” for Israel’s campaign before international pressure increases dramatically, Cohen responded, “two or three weeks.”