The President of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has criticised the conflict in Gaza as a “moral failure” of the international community. Mirjana Spoljaric urged Israel and Hamas to negotiate a new deal to halt the fighting during a press conference in Geneva, following her visits to the Gaza Strip and Israel.
Spoljaric stated, “I have been speaking of moral failure because every day this continues is a day more where the international community hasn’t proven capable of ending such high levels of suffering, and this will have an impact on generations, not only in Gaza.”
She emphasised the need for an agreement between the two sides, especially regarding the release of Israeli hostages taken to Gaza by Hamas gunmen during an incident in southern Israel on October 7. Spoljaric acknowledged the complexity and sensitivity of such releases, calling them “highly complex, highly sensitive missions.”
While a truce mediated by Qatar and Egypt held for a week at the end of November, bringing about the release of 110 hostages in Gaza, heavy fighting resumed on December 1. Some of the remaining hostages have been declared dead in absentia by Israeli authorities.
Responding to criticism of the ICRC’s role during the truce, Spoljaric rejected comparisons to a taxi service, stating, “You don’t just go there and take the hostages and bring them out.” She emphasized the risks taken by ICRC colleagues and the high exposure of hostages during such operations.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hinted at new negotiations to recover hostages still held by Hamas, confirming last week that Israel’s intelligence chief met with the Prime Minister of Qatar. Spoljaric expressed the ICRC’s readiness to assist again once the parties reach an agreement, stating, “We continue to talk to all sides to then be ready to operationalize the agreement that they reach.”
