ICRC Demands Hamas Provide Shalit Proof of Life—Hamas Says No Way
GENEVA (Reuters) – The International Red Cross called on Hamas Thursday to provide proof that Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit is still alive nearly five years after his capture by Palestinian militants.
In an unusual public appeal, the independent aid agency said Shalit’s family had a right under international humanitarian law to be in contact with their 24-year-old son, held incommunicado since his capture on June 25, 2006.
“Because there has been no sign of life from Mr. Shalit for almost two years, the ICRC is now demanding that Hamas prove that he is alive,” the Geneva-based International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said.
The ICRC also reiterated its long-standing request to visit Shalit in custody.
But a Hamas spokesman appeared to dismiss the appeal — which senior ICRC officials said had been transmitted privately to the militant Islamist group several weeks ago.
“The Red Cross should not get involved in Israeli security games aimed at reaching Shalit. It should take a stand that results in ending the suffering of Palestinian prisoners,” Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri told Reuters in Gaza.
Hamas-led gunmen tunnelled from Gaza into Israel to seize Shalit, who has been held at an unknown location in Gaza ever since. The last sign of life was a videotape released by his captors in September 2009 showing Shalit, pale and thin, pleading for his life.
“The total absence of information concerning Mr. Shalit is completely unacceptable,” ICRC Director-General Yves Daccord said in a statement.