Friends of Israel groups write to Red Cross expressing ‘deep concern’ over Hamas actions

The chairs of Labour Friends of Israel, Conservative Friends of Israel and Liberal Democrat Friends of Israel have co-signed a letter sent to the president of the International Red Cross expressing “deep concern” about Hamas’s refusal to allow Red Cross access to the Israeli hostages in Gaza.

The letter, addressed to president Mirjana Spoljaric, also set out a series of questions about what steps the ICRC has taken to reach the hostages.

It asked “what actions the ICRC has taken, and continues to take, in order to gain access to the hostages?”. It also questioned,”What steps the ICRC took to gain access to the hostages during the temporary ceasefire?

The letter also asked for confirmation that the ICRC is in discussions with Qatar and Turkey to release the hostages, “given their close links with Hamas”.

Alongside the cross-party letter, LFI’s leader in the House of Lords, Baroness Ramsay, also wrote to the ambassadors of Qatar and Turkey in the UK, asking questions about both states’ relationships with the Hamas terror group and calling on them to apply pressure for the release of more than 130 Israeli hostages still in Gaza.

In both letters, Baroness Ramsay raised the issue of Hamas refusing to allow the International Committee of the Red Cross access to the hostages, including causing the humanitarian pause in late November to break down as a result. She also raised concerning reports about the treatment of hostages by Hamas.