In a rare statement defining the parameters of its duty, the Red Cross has defended itself against accusations that it has not done enough to aid hostages in Gaza or Palestinian inmates in Israel.
The International Committee of the Red Cross, which insists on its impartiality, stated that “a proliferation of dehumanizing language and of false and misleading information about the ICRC and our work in the current conflict” has been sparked by the increase in violence between Israel and the Palestinian territories.
Since the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack in Israel, ICRC vans have helped move hostages detained in the Gaza Strip and Palestinians out of Israeli prison.
However, the captive transfer to the ICRC has come under heavy fire after tumultuous scenes on Thursday in which masked fighters from Islamic Jihad and Hamas, armed with automatic guns, battled to control a throng that was on the rise.
Gerald Steinberg, president of the right-wing Israeli organization NGO Monitor, said in the Australian online magazine Quillette that ICRC officials “did nothing to interfere with this intimidating display of indignity and public humiliation.”
The ICRC said: “Ensuring the safety and security of the handover operations is the responsibility of the parties to the agreement.”
Furthermore, “Interfering with armed security personnel could compromise the safety of ICRC staff, and more importantly that of the hostages.”
The Geneva-based organisation also said it had not given permission for “people carrying Hamas flags to get on top of our buses in Ramallah” during the release of Palestinian detainees, “nor did we have the capacity to prevent people from doing so”.
