"Need to provide urgent medical care": Medical head of Hostages and Missing Families Forum urges international community

By Ashoke Raj
Tel Aviv [Israel], October 15 : Underlining that hundreds of Israelis, as well as people from different countries, are held captive by Hamas, the medical team head of 'Hostages and Missing Families Forum', Hagai Levine, has urged the international community to intervene as the hostages have medical illnesses that need urgent care, otherwise, they suffer from "unimaginable misery."
"Hundreds of Israelis and people from several different countries, including the US. European countries and many other countries are kept by Hamas, and they have medical illnesses that need urgent care. Otherwise, they suffer from unimaginable misery," Levine said during a press conference in Tel Aviv on Saturday.
"We need to provide them urgent medical care today to allow them to be examined by physicians and to get the needed treatment...Demand from your government in Turkey, Egypt, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia to intervene and allow them to get medical treatment now because we have to stop this unimaginable human suffering now...," he said.
Later, in an exclusive interview with ANI, Levine further emphasised that denial of medical treatment to the needy is 'Haram'.
"...Denying medical treatment to hostages is something that is 'Haram'. And I hope that Muslim people will demand Hamas to allow the hostages to get medical treatment... The Red Cross is a neutral organisation that cares about victims everywhere, regardless of their nationality... We met with the team in Israel. We expect the Red Cross to act now to make sure that they provide medical care to hostages that need medical care...," he said.
In the wake of Israel Hamas war in the Gaza Strip which claimed the loss of thousands of lives on both sides including civilians, an agreement has been reached under which Israel will allow foreigners to leave the war-torn Gaza, Times of Israel reported on Saturday.
Egypt, Israel and the United States have agreed to allow foreigners residing in Gaza to pass through the Rafah border crossing into Egypt, under which Israel agreed to refrain from striking areas the foreigners would pass through on their way out of the Palestinian territory.
The Israeli publication added that Qatar was involved in the negotiations and the participants received approval from the Palestinian terror groups, Hamas and Islamic Jihad.
Moreover, the agreement does not involve anything about the release of hostages being held by Hamas.
The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) on Saturday asked residents of the Northern Gaza Strip to relocate to the southern part of the enclave using evacuation corridors between 10 am to 4 pm (local time), The Times of Israel reported.
The Israeli military said, "If you care about yourself and your loved ones, go south as instructed." It further said, "Rest assured that Hamas leaders have taken care of themselves and are taking cover from strikes in the region."
Their message indicated that the IDF could be readying to launch a ground invasion in response to Hamas's attack on October 7.
However, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged Israel to "reconsider" its warning, calling it "dangerous and deeply troubling," according to The New York Times.
Guterres in an opinion article in The New York Times emphasized that such demand for a mass evacuation on extremely short notice could have devastating humanitarian consequences.
The IDF has confirmed that over 120 civilians are being held captive in Gaza by the Hamas terrorist organization. Israeli Defence Forces on Saturday said 1300 people have lost their lives and over 3000 have been injured in the Hamas terror attacks on Israel.