The Absence Of The Red Cross On The Israeli Hostages

Three more hostages were found in Gaza, dead. All three were killed in the October 7 Hamas massacre, and the Gazan army took the lifeless bodies to the terrorist enclave. They were retrieved in a special operation by the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) on May 24 and brought back to Israel for burial.

The Gazan forces of Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad and others took around 250 people from Israel to Gaza as hostages. In addition to many corpses, were living babies, young women, men and elderly people. Many had illnesses and require medicine and particular care.

The Red Cross has not visited a single one since their abduction.

The international aid agency has a webpage dedicated to the hostages called “What the Red Cross is doing to help hostages taken from Israel?” It states that “For more than seven months, families of hostages held in Gaza have endured unimaginable suffering as they wait for news of their loved ones. Colleagues from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) have been working round the clock to access the hostages and provide desperate families with information about their loved ones.”

But the international organization makes clear that it can only do so much if the powers of Gaza refuse to work with them. “The plight of the hostages held in Gaza remains one of ICRC’s utmost priorities. They are standing by to facilitate and bring the remaining hostages back to their loved ones. But the situation is extremely difficult. The ICRC does not have information about where the hostages are. Even if the location was known, the ICRC cannot force its way into where hostages are held. And they can only visit hostages and support relief operations if there is an agreement by the parties to the conflict.”

The Israeli government has demanded that the UN and ICRC get aid to the hostages, with its Foreign Minister Eli Cohen saying “We expect the Red Cross to put the issue at the top of the organization’s priority list, to use all levers of pressure, and not rest until it visits all the hostages, assesses their condition, and makes sure they are receiving the medical care they need.” The Anti-Defamation League made similar calls and worked to rally support to pressure the UN and Red Cross.

Otherwise, there’s been very little.

The Biden Administration has focused on making demands of Israel, not the UN or Red Cross. New York Senator Chuck Schumer called for the Israeli government to fall but made no challenge to the Red Cross. Rep. Jamaal Bowman (NY-16) made a call for a ceasefire after October 7 but did not ask for the hostages to be released and then said that the entire idea that Gazans raped Israelis was “a lie.”

Only two American politicians – Congressman Dan Goldman (NY-10) and Congresswoman Becca Balint (VT-AL) – sent a letter to the Red Cross on December 18, 2023, asking why the agency designed to help people in war has done nothing to help the hostages. At a minimum, it should get a “proof of life,” a basic standard in international law.

*Letter from Reps. Goldman and Balint to the Red Cross is one of the only instances of any politician outside of Israel demanding that the international agency do something about the hostages*

The failure of the world to even ASK the Red Cross to gain simple information about the hostages is proof that the world fully understands that Gazans stand outside of international law. Engaging with the Gazan government and army would be like asking a spider to translate Homer’s Iliad.

Despite being fully aware that Palestinian Arabs operate completely outside of acceptable norms and international laws, Spain, Ireland and Norway took steps to recognize a Palestinian state on May 28. Some of those countries have a history of combatting jihadi networks. I imagine that they would have been alarmed had United Nations member states openly celebrated and formally recognized the terrorist groups as legitimate.

The entire world has completely internalized that Gazans operate outside of international and humanitarian law, yet many countries propose to legitimize them. Doing so is not simply an act of aggression against Israel but an invitation for terrorism to target those very states.

ACTION ITEM

Demand that President Biden, your senators and members of congress contact the Red Cross to get information about the hostages taken from Israel.

Contact White House