Middle East: Israeli minister demands Gaza reoccupation

Hamas' armed wing said it is ready to deliver Red Cross aid to hostages it is holding in Gaza if Israel opens humanitarian corridors permanently. 

"[We] are ready to respond positively [to] any request by the Red Cross to deliver food and medicine to enemy prisoners. However, we condition our acceptance on the opening of humanitarian corridors... for the passage of food and medicine... across all areas of the Gaza Strip," Hamas' armed wing wrote in a statement.

The statement was published after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asked the ICRC for help to provide food to hostages held in Gaza. 

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has spoken with the coordinator of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to see if the organization can help reach hostages held captive in Gaza.

Netanyahu's office said he spoke with Julien Lerisson and "requested his involvement in providing food to our hostages and... immediate medical treatment."

ICRC has previously coordinated the transfer of hostages from Hamas militants back into Israel, as well as the return of Palestinian prisoners from Israeli detention.

The aid organization said in a statement it was "appalled by the harrowing videos" and reiterated its "call to be granted access to the hostages."

Propaganda videos released by Hamas, designated as a terrorist group by the US, the EU and Israel, and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad militant group, sparked widespread anger in Israel over the weekend.

The undated footage from Hamas appears to show a visibly frail Israeli hostage, Evyatar David, standing in an apparent tunnel. In one section, he is shown digging a hole, which, he says, is for his own grave.

The footage came after the Palestinian Islamic Jihad militant group, which is also holding Israeli hostages, released its own video appearing to show a visibly frail Rom Braslavski, who was also taken captive over the course of October 7, 2023, terror attacks.

Germany's Bundeswehr armed forces delivered more aid into Gaza on Sunday, after having done so on Saturday as well.

Germany is among several countries that are part of a coalition, led by Jordan, that has carried out several airdrop missions over Gaza.

Two military aircraft delivered a total of 44 pallets of food, medical supplies, and other relief supplies weighing about 19 tons, according to DPA news agency.

But several aid groups have criticized the decision to have more aid parachuted into Gaza, as they say it poses a risk to civilians on the ground.

The World Health Organization has warned that the situation in Gaza, where nearly half a million people face famine-like conditions, remains entirely "preventable" and has called upon authorities to allow truckloads of aid to enter the territory.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed "profound shock" over videos showing two emaciated hostages in Gaza.

 A statement from Netanyahu's office said he had spoken with the families of hostages Rom Braslavski and Evyatar David and "expressed profound shock over the materials distributed by the terror organizations."

Netanyahu told the families that "efforts to return all our hostages are ongoing," the statement added.

Palestinian militant groupHamas and its ally Islamic Jihad released three videos this week. In the videos, it showed two hostages Hamas has held in Gaza since the October 7, 2023, attack on Israel, which triggered the war.

In one scene in the staged footage, David appeared to be digging what he said was his own grave.

Israeli newspapers dedicated their Sunday front pages to the plight of the hostages, with one decrying "hell in Gaza" and another showing a "malnourished, emaciated and desperate" David.

The videos make references to the dire humanitarian conditions in Gaza, where UN-mandated experts have warned that a famine is unfolding.

Israel's National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir has called for his country to "occupy the entire Gaza Strip and declare full sovereignty."

Ben-Gvir, a settler from the occupied West Bank, commented during a visit to Jerusalem's flashpoint Temple Mount, adding that Palestinians should be "encouraged to emigrate voluntarily."

His remarks are likely to fuel further claims that Israel is pursuing a policy of "ethnic cleansing" in Gaza, charges the Israeli government denies. The lawmaker said the footage was being used by the Palestinian side to exert pressure on Israel.

Temple Mount, known to Muslims as Haram al-Sharif, is home to the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock, making it the third-holiest site in Islam. For Jews, it is the location of the destroyed biblical temples.

Ben-Gvir said he prayed at the site, despite a long-standing arrangement that non-Muslims are not allowed to do so.

He has visited the site in the past, calling for Jewish prayer to be allowed there, prompting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to issue statements saying that this was not Israel's policy.

Tens of thousands of demonstrators braved rainy weather to march across the iconic Sydney Harbour Bridge in support of the Palestinian people on Sunday. 

Protesters called for peace and aid deliveries in the war-torn Gaza Strip, where UN-mandated experts have warned a man-made "famine is unfolding." Nearly two years into the war in Gaza, several governments and humanitarian organizations, along with the public across the world, have condemned the widespread starvation. 

The organizers of Sunday's rally dubbed it the "March for Humanity." Wikileaks founder Julian Assange was one of the demonstrators.

Some attending the march carried pots and pans as symbols of hunger, often seen in images coming out of Gaza. The protesters also waved Palestinian flags and chanted, "We are all Palestinians."

Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has said he supports a two-state solution and that Israel's denial of aid and killing of civilians "cannot be defended or ignored."

Good morning and welcome to our weekend blog, which covers Gaza, Israel and all updates on the Middle East. 

On Saturday, the German government mounted pressure on Israel, saying the amount of aid entering Gaza remains "very insufficient" despite limited improvement. The Bundeswehr, Germany's armed forces, delivered 9.6 tons of aid into Gaza, according to the DPA news agency.

Meanwhile, a chilling video surfaced from Gaza, leading to widespread anger. Hamas released a propaganda video of an Israeli hostage in Gaza, Evyatar David, who has been held captive since October 7, 2023. In one portion of the video, a frail-looking David is being forced to dig a hole, which he says will be his grave.

This Sunday morning, we will continue to track news from the region. Stay tuned.

The Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) humanitarian organization said Israeli forces attacked its headquarters in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis.

The PRCS said the attack killed one staff member and injured three others. The PRCS posted a video of what it said was the Israeli attack on social media platform X, with the footage showing fire and an explosion inside a building.  

The Israeli military has yet to comment.

Turkey has begun delivering Azerbaijani natural gas to Syria. 

The Turkey-Syria Natural Gas Pipeline, which goes through the southern Turkish border region of Kilis, was inaugurated in an event on Saturday, with Turkish, Azerbaijani, Syrian and Qatari officials in attendance. 

Taking part in the Kilis inauguration ceremony, Turkish Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar called the opening of the pipeline a "historic moment." Bayraktar said that "in the initial phase, up to two billion cubic meters of natural gas per year could be exported to Syria."  

Bayraktar said gas deliveries will first be sent to Aleppo in northern Syria, and will later be extended to the city of Homs in the central part of the country.    

Syrian Energy Minister Mohammed al-Bashir, who was at the launch event, hailed the gas pipeline as a "strategic step" that boosts energy security and will "positively impact the economy and living conditions."

Syria's Sunni Islamist-led interim government has close ties with Turkey, with Turkish investments playing a key role in rebuilding the country after the ouster of Syrian leader Bashar Assad. Turkey opposed Assad's rule and backed rebels fighting against him during the Syrian civil war, which ignited in 2011.  

The family of Evyatar David, an Israeli held hostage in Gaza, saw him for the first time after Hamas released a video of him, looking very frail.

The propaganda video has led to widespread anger, with families of Israeli hostages held captive by Hamas calling on the Israeli government to secure their release.

In one section of the video, Evyatar David is shown being forced to dig a hole in the ground that he says will be his grave.

David was kidnapped at the Nova Music Festival on October 7, 2023, during the terrorist attack by Hamas in which 1,200 people were killed and 250 taken hostage.

His family said in a statement that "Hamas is using our son as a live experiment in a vile hunger campaign. The deliberate starvation of our son as part of a propaganda campaign is one of the most horrifying acts the world has seen."

The video is juxtaposed with pictures of starving Palestinian children.

In a UN statement on Tuesday, UN-backed food security experts said that "the worst-case scenario of famine is currently playing out in Gaza," with UN World Food Programme director of emergencies Ross Smith saying the situation was "unlike anything we have seen in this century."

Germany's Bundeswehr armed forces delivered about 9.6 tons of aid into Gaza on Saturday, according to the DPA news agency.

An A400M military transport aircraft dropped 22 pallets of humanitarian aid containing food and medical supplies into Gaza, the report said.

The Israeli military said countries like France, Egypt, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates delivered about 90 pallets of aid into Gaza on Saturday.

A United Nations-affiliated organization that tracks food security worldwide issued a dire warning earlier this week about the hunger crisis in the Gaza Strip.

It confirmed that, based on data up to July 25, a "worse-case" famine scenario, was unfolding across Gaza.

Israeli authorities control the only three border crossings at the Strip and cut off all supplies to Gaza at the beginning of March.

Israeli authorities then reopened some aid centers in May, but with restrictions they said were designed to stop goods from being stolen by Hamas militants.

Hamas is designated as a terrorist organization by Israel, the US, Germany, the EU and others.

Malnutrition-related deaths spiked in Gaza in July, according to the World Health Organization.

Airdrops have been sharply criticized by some humanitarian groups as expensive, inefficient and dangerous. 

US envoy Steve Witkoff on Saturday visited Hostages Square in Tel Aviv and vowed to secure the release of the remaining hostages in Gaza.

"We will get your children home and hold Hamas responsible for any bad acts on their part," Witkoff told families of Israeli hostages who had gathered at the square to stage a protest to call upon the Israeli government to secure a deal to release their loved ones from captivity.

Witkoff was cited as saying so, according to a statement by the Hostages and Missing Families Forum. He added "We will do what’s right for the Gazan people."

Protesters had gathered at the square after videos of Israeli hostages held in Gaza were released by militant groups, sparking anger and outrage.

One video of an Israeli hostage was released by the Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad on Thursday. A second video was released by Hamas on Friday (see posts above). It is unclear when those videos were filmed.

Witkoff on Friday also visited an aid distribution site in southern Gaza run by theUS-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. The foundation has been widely criticized for failing to improve conditions in the besieged enclave.

The amount of aid entering Gaza remains "very insufficient" despite limited improvement, the German government said on Saturday, after ministers discussed ways to heighten pressure on Israel.

Germany "notes limited initial progress in the delivery of humanitarian aid to the population of the Gaza Strip, which, however, remains very insufficient to alleviate the emergency situation," government spokesman Stefan Kornelius said in a statement. "Israel remains obligated to ensure the full delivery of aid," Kornelius added.

German ministers had gathered on Saturday, following German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul's trip to Israel and the Palestinian Territories on Thursday and Friday.

Wadephul had called upon Israeli authorities to ensure safe access for UN agencies to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza, saying the current restrictions were worsening the crisis.

"The humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza must end now," Wadephul had said, stressing that aid distribution through the UN had long worked effectively and needed to resume without obstacles.

Good evening and welcome to the weekend edition of the Middle East blog. We're tracking the news about Germany having delivered more aid into Gaza, as well as US envoy Steve Witkoff's visit to the region.

Witkoff has met with families of Israeli hostages held captive by Hamas and vowed to secure a deal to bring their loved ones home.

But some families were disappointed and said they have would have liked to hear more about practical ways to secure that deal.

Follow along for news, analysis, and explainers on the situation in Gaza, Israel, and the wider Middle East, on the weekend of August 2 and August 3.