Israel security minister hinges Gaza aid on release of hostages

Israel’s far-right security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, has warned humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip should be halted unless Hamas agrees to release Israeli hostages taken during its brutal attack on October 7.

Ben-Gvir’s comments, made on the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, followed the announcement that a second U.N. aid convoy, consisting of more than a dozen trucks, was allowed to enter Gaza on Sunday.

A small number of trucks carrying humanitarian aid began arriving in the Gaza Strip over the weekend after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu agreed to demands from the U.S. for “continuous aid” to flow into the stricken area.

However, in an implicit criticism of Netanyahu, Ben-Gvir said: “Any agreement of ‘continuous aid to Gaza’ that does not include freeing all our hostages is just a continuation of the concept that led us to where we are now. He added: “Humanitarian [aid] only in exchange for freeing all the hostages.”

Hamas continues to hold around 200 people kidnapped during the October 7 attacks.

According to the U.N., a first convoy of 20 trucks carrying aid entered Gaza on Saturday, followed by up to 17 trucks on Sunday. Before the conflict, around 500 trucks of U.N. aid entered Gaza every day.