DUBLIN, Ireland: President Michael D. Higgins has issued a strong condemnation after the release of footage showing the emaciated bodies of two hostages captured during the Hamas-led October 7th attacks.

In a statement over the weekend, Higgins described the images as "a shocking act of cruelty," saying they tarnish any political cause linked to such actions.

"We are now in a position of seeing the nadir of human behaviour with images like these occurring at the same time as children are deprived of medicine and mothers are deprived of water and the necessary means of addressing malnutrition as they watch their children die," he said.

The President urged the international community to respond with more than words, warning that "practical actions… cannot wait until September to be addressed." He expressed hope that Chapter VII of the U.N. Charter might provide a legal mechanism to guarantee safe and immediate delivery of humanitarian aid to the region.

The footage emerged as U.S. Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff met in Israel over the weekend with families of hostages still held by Hamas. According to a recording reviewed by Reuters, Witkoff told attendees that he was working with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on "a very, very good plan" to rebuild Gaza, one that "effectively means the end of the war."

U.S. President Donald Trump, who has made ending the conflict a key goal of his administration, has faced stalled negotiations despite mounting international pressure over Gaza's humanitarian crisis. Witkoff also claimed Hamas was prepared to disarm to end the war — a statement the militant group has repeatedly contradicted. Hamas reaffirmed over the weekend that it would not give up "armed resistance" unless an "independent, fully sovereign Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital" were established.

Talks between Israel and Hamas, aimed at securing a 60-day ceasefire and the release of roughly half the remaining hostages, collapsed last week without agreement.

Meanwhile, Hamas released its second hostage video in two days, showing Israeli captive Evyatar David visibly gaunt and digging what he claimed was his own grave. The footage drew immediate outrage in Israel.

A senior Israeli official later suggested that Washington and Jerusalem were moving toward a joint strategy that would focus on freeing all remaining hostages, disarming Hamas, and demilitarising Gaza — demands that Israel has maintained as essential to ending the war.

The current conflict erupted after Hamas fighters killed more than 1,200 people and took 251 hostages during the October 7, 2023, assault on southern Israel, according to Israeli authorities. Since then, Israel's military campaign has killed over 60,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza health officials.

Israeli officials now believe 50 hostages remain in Gaza, with only around 20 thought to be alive.

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