Palestinian civilians 'hostage' to worsening conflict: Red Cross

0 Comments | AFP, December, 2007

GENEVA (AFP) — Palestinians have become a "hostage to the conflict" between militants and the Israeli armed forces and are bearing the brunt of the hostilities, the international Red Cross warned on Thursday.

"The Palestinian people are paying an exceedingly high price for the continuing hostilities between Israel and Palestinian factions," said Beatrice Megevand Roggo, head of Middle East operations for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).

"Their situation is made even more difficult by intra-Palestinian rivalries. The Palestinian population has effectively become a hostage to the conflict," she said.

The ICRC said the situation in the Gaza Strip, which has been run by the Islamist Hamas militia since June, is "alarming," with Israel's...