Israel will not lift its blockade of the Gaza Strip unless Hamas allows the Red Cross to visit an Israeli soldier captured in 2006, its foreign minister said Thursday. “We must say clearly that the minimal condition for lifting the blockade is for the Red Cross to be allowed to regularly visit Gilad Shalit,” Avigdor Lieberman said in a statement, referring to the 23-year-old conscript. “As long as this condition is not fulfilled, there is no reason to change the situation,” he added. Hamas swiftly rejected the remarks, calling Israel's linking of Shalit's fate to the blockade “an attempt to mislead and cover up international efforts to break the siege.” The movement has said it will only release Shalit in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners held by Israel, including several political leaders. Meanwhile, Hamas say they will not let newly approved food items into the Gaza Strip as long as Israel maintains its blockade of the territory. Israel slightly eased the much-criticized blockade Wednesday by permitting snacks, spices and some other previously banned food items into Gaza. The order was symbolic.