A relative of one of the two hostages rescued from Hamas captivity in Gaza early Monday morning has spoken out, saying her uncle Fernando Marman, 61, never received any of his prescribed medications despite Hamas promises to Qatar that the medicine was delivered to those who needed it.
“We handed over all the medications as part of the last medicine deal,” Maayan Sigal Koren told Galei Tzahal Army Radio in an interview on Tuesday. “[But] according to what they said, they never got anything.”
In fact, she said, “they were surprised that there was any such deal.”
Marman and Luis Har, 70, were rescued from the southern Gaza border town of Rafah by Shin Bet and IDF special forces. They are recovering at the Sheba Medical Center in Ramat Gan.
The families said they were informed that both men were given some medication while in captivity, but not the medicines specifically sent for them.
Last month, Qatar and France brokered a deal with Hamas to deliver urgently-needed medication to some 45 hostages with chronic medical conditions who are still being held by Hamas in Gaza.
Specific medical packages meant to last several months were to be delivered to each of the 45 hostages, with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) coordinating deliveries in the enclave.
In accordance with the deal brokered by Qatar and France, for each box of medication intended for a hostage, Hamas was to be provided with 1,000 boxes of medicine for Gazans along with increased humanitarian aid.
The medications, purchased in France, were delivered to Egypt on January 17 by two Qatari Air Force planes and from there, were brought into Gaza where the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) was to coordinate distribution.
Hamas promised Qatar the medications would reach their intended destination, including those for the hostages, and at that point, all communications on the issue ended.
Serious Consequences?
One week ago, France finally demanded “verifiable proof” from Hamas that the medications sent for the Israeli hostages had reached them.
Moreover, French Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne warned during his visit to Israel last week that there would be “serious consequences” if it was discovered that the medications were not delivered as promised, Israel’s Channel 12 News reported.
It now remains to be seen what — if anything — those “serious consequences” will be.
Ben Gvir: ‘Israel Needs to Look After Israel’
National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir called on Tuesday for the suspension of humanitarian aid deliveries to Gaza until the condition of the hostages is clarified.
“Let us remind you that about a month ago you led a move against Qatar to deliver essential medicines to our abductees, in which you approved the transfer of two Air Force cargo planes filled with thousands of packages of medicines and humanitarian medical equipment to the residents of Gaza along with individual boxes of medicines for the abductees, in return For the promise that Hamas will present evidence that the abductees did indeed receive the drugs,” Ben-Gvir wrote in a letter sent to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
“Now, when it is clear to the whole world that even the medicines intended for the abductees, through international mediation, did not reach their destination, I implore you to immediately stop the transfer of humanitarian aid to Gaza and accept my simple position that until the State of Israel receives information about their condition of the abductees and clear evidence that the medicines were delivered to them, no aid truck will enter the Gaza Strip,” he wrote.
Ben Gvir also had scathing words for France on Tuesday, noting that while France has sanctioned dozens of Israelis living in Judea and Samaria, Paris has done nothing to ensure hostages held by Hamas are getting their needs met.
“After giving a “guarantee” for the introduction of medicine, which reached Hamas instead of the abductees, France continues to help us with additional ‘gifts’ — an attempt to bring an outline of surrender to Hezbollah in the north, and sanctions against dozens of settlers from Judea and Samaria,” Ben Gvir pointed out in a post on the X social media platform.
אחרי שנתנה ״ערבות״ להכנסת תרופות, שהגיעו לחמאס במקום לחטופים, ממשיכה צרפת לסייע לנו ב"מתנות" נוספות: ניסיון להביא מתווה של כניעה לחיזבאללה בצפון, וסנקציות נגד עשרות מתיישבים מיהודה ושומרון.
הגיע הזמן שנבהיר: מדינת ישראל צריכה לדאוג לאינטרסים של מדינת ישראל, ולא לאינטרסים של…
— איתמר בן גביר (@itamarbengvir) February 13, 2024
“The time has come for us to clarify: the State of Israel should look after the interests of the State of Israel, not the interests of Paris,” Ben Gvir added.
Not the First Time ICRC Screwed Up on Help for Israeli Hostages
This is not the first time Hamas has lied, of course; sadly, it is also not the International Committee of the Red Cross has screwed up on assistance to Israelis in need.
ICRC President Mirjana Spoljaric Egger refused to accept a box of life-saving medication for the hostages from Netanyahu during his own meeting with the agency in December 2023.
“I met with the Red Cross; I handed them a box of medicine for some of the hostages … I told a representative to take this box to Rafah [and] she said ‘no,'” the prime minister told lawmakers during a December 25, 2023 address to the Knesset.
“It was a difficult conversation. We are sparing no effort, both seen and hidden, to bring all of the hostages home,” he added.
Families of the hostages being held in Gaza also tried to give their loved ones’ medication to the head of the Red Cross in a December 15 meeting that took place in Geneva.
As she did soon after with Netanyahu, the ICRC president refused to accept the medicine. She also refused to be photographed with the families of the hostages.
