Displaced Palestinians ride in a vehicle in the south of Deir el-Balah in the central Gaza Strip on Monday — AFP GENEVA, Oct 06 (AFP): The Red Cross said Monday it stood ready to help bring hostages held in Gaza back to their families in Israel and deliver aid into the Gaza Strip.
Delegations from Hamas, Israel and the United States are due to convene in Egypt for talks on Monday aimed at ending the nearly two-year war in Gaza.
Both Hamas and Israel have responded positively to US President Donald Trump's proposal for an end to the fighting and the release of hostages in Gaza in exchange for Palestinians held in Israeli jails.
"Our teams are ready to act as a neutral humanitarian intermediary to help bring hostages and detainees back to their families," said Mirjana Spoljaric, president of the International Committee of the Red Cross.
The ICRC insisted that humanitarian aid needed to resume "at full capacity" and be distributed safely to people wherever they were in the Gaza Strip.
The Geneva-based humanitarian organisation said it had facilitated the release of 148 hostages and 1,931 detainees since October 2023. It has also facilitated the return of human remains.
It said such operations were highly complex and needed meticulous logistical and security planning.
Israel will on Monday return the remaining 28 Spanish detainees from a flotilla carrying pro-Palestinian activists and aid to war-torn Gaza after 21 others arrived at the weekend, Spain's foreign minister said.
"Today, the group of 28 Spanish flotilla members who remain detained in Israel will leave Israel," Jose Manuel Albares told Catalunya Radio.
The minister declined to provide further details for privacy reasons but said: "We are working so that they all arrive in Spain as soon as possible."
"The forecast is that today there will no longer be any Spaniards in jail in Israel," Albares said.
Dozens of other activists of various nationalities, including Swedish climate campaigner Greta Thunberg, were also due to leave Israel on Monday.
Most, if not all, will be flown to Greece, where they will be able to get flights to their home countries, their respective governments said on Sunday.
Israel released another 21 of the 49 Spanish detainees on Sunday.
The Global Sumud Flotilla had been aiming to break an Israeli blockade to deliver aid to Gaza, where the United Nations says famine has taken hold after almost two years of devastating conflict.
The UN said the famine was the result of the "systematic obstruction" of humanitarian aid deliveries by Israel.
© 2025 - All Rights with The Financial Express
