Italian hostages released in Gaza

0 Comments | AFP, November, 2006

GAZA CITY (AFP) — Two Italian aid workers seized at gunpoint in the Gaza Strip have met Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas after their release in the latest kidnapping of foreigners in the lawless territory. Claudio Moroni, 36, and Gianmarco Onorato, 63, of the Italian Red Cross were held for several hours on Tuesday after being snatched by masked gunmen while driving alone back to Gaza City from the south.

In response, the International Committee of the Red Cross to halt its activities in the increasingly impoverished and volatile territory where the economy is in ruins. Tuesday's abduction was the latest in a string of kidnappings of foreigners to blight the impoverished territory, where growing lawlessness abounds. Around 20 foreigners, including many journalists, have...