The Red Cross: A Crucial Neutral Actor in Conflict Zones

In the recent temporary ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, persons wearing white vests and driving SUVs safely guided released hostages. The individuals, identifiable by their red and white attire, were members of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). They orchestrated the movement of hostages from the authority of masked Hamas militants back into Israel, and facilitated the repatriation of Palestinian detainees from Israeli confinement.

Fabrizio Carboni, ICRC Regional Director for the Near and Middle East, expressed that the transportation may appear to simply move people from one location to another. However, he emphasized the importance of coordinating the timing, method, and scope of the transportation, including movements outside of Gaza.

A hostage release, faciliated by ICRC workers in Gaza City, takes place on November 28, 2023.

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A vehicle of the ICRC drives hostages to the Rafah border point with Egypt as part of a transfer deal on November 26, 2023.

The ceasefire between Israel and Hamas ended after just 7 days last week, leading to renewed fighting. Israel's attacks are now concentrated in the southern Gaza, where hundreds of thousands of refugees had already sought shelter.

Palestinian hospitals are once again filling up with casualties, and the fate of the 138 hostages that Israel believes are still in captivity remains uncertain.

The Red Cross, serving as a neutral intermediary, is prepared to facilitate additional exchanges between the two sides.

In the past week, the organization has faced criticism for not doing enough in Gaza to assist the remaining hostages. An Israeli mother, whose son is believed to be held hostage in Gaza, stated that the Red Cross had excelled in providing transportation for released hostages but had neglected those still in captivity.

People gather outside the ICRC offices in Tel Aviv on November 9, 2023.

Mirjana Spoljaric, President of the ICRC, emphasized on the BBC World Service's Newshour program that the criticism of the Red Cross's involvement in facilitating hostage releases is "deeply unjust, unfair, and incorrect." This statement was made in response to questions about the organization's role in such operations.

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Emotional reunions as Israeli hostages come home

Robert Mardini, Director General of the ICRC, informed CNN that there are limitations to the actions of humanitarian organizations.

A long and storied history

Red Cross volunteers have been risking their lives for 160 years, standing in the line of fire to help those in need. Established in Geneva in 1863, the ICRC is the world's oldest and most respected humanitarian organization.

The ICRC, a three-time Nobel Peace Prize winner, has received the award twice during the World Wars and once on the centenary of its creation. It operates in over 100 countries, providing support to those affected by war, natural disasters, and other global crises through a humanitarian network of approximately 80 million individuals.

A view of the Turkish Red Crescent blood donation center in Duzce, Turkiye.

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The ICRC conducts its humanitarian efforts in Muslim majority countries under the crescent moon symbol. The Turkish Red Crescent, established in 1868 under the Ottoman Empire, was the first to adopt this symbol. The Palestinian Red Crescent Society was established in 1968 to aid Palestinian refugees in Jordan and now serves Palestinians in the West Bank, Gaza, and beyond. In 2006, it became a full member of the ICRC.

Balthasar Staehelin, who leads the delegation for East Asia in Beijing, stated that they are impartial observers, witnessing suffering from all angles without political bias. He emphasized that their focus is solely on providing aid to those in need, without any consideration of race, religion, or political affiliations.

Civilians are accompanied by members of the Red Cross to the village of Bezimenne in the Donetsk Region, Ukraine.

Swiss businessman Jean-Henri Dunant discovered hundreds of dying soldiers on the Italian battlefield of Solferino in 1859, marking the beginning of the organization's history.

Dunant was appalled by the sight and took it upon himself to aid the wounded soldiers, rallying civilians to provide medical assistance and support. Upon his return to Geneva, he authored a book called A Memory of Solferino, documenting his traumatic encounters.

Dunant's observation of the intense suffering and pain caused by wounds during wartime led him to propose the creation of voluntary aid societies to provide assistance to the wounded. This plea led to the establishment of the ICRC and the development of the first Geneva Conventions.

Red Cross staff deliver medical aid to the Nasser Medical Hospital in Khan Younis, Gaza, on Sunday, Oct. 29, 2023.

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For the past 150 years, the Red Cross and Red Crescent groups have been involved in nearly every conflict, with the World War One archives alone documenting details on over 2 million prisoners of war (POWs).

Nelson Mandela described the regular visits from the ICRC during his lengthy imprisonment in apartheid South Africa as a source of hope and humanity in an otherwise bleak and inhumane political imprisonment.

Red Cross volunteers stand by outside a hangar in Kalamata, Greece, as they await the arrival of migrants temporarily sheltered after a fishing boat with hundreds of passengers capsized.

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Responding to natural disasters is another key element of the ICRCs work.

During the peak of the first wave of the coronavirus in Italy, Red Cross workers went door to door in Bergamo. Similarly, when an earthquake struck northern Afghanistan this year, the ICRC was one of the few international aid organizations still operating in the country after the Taliban's takeover.

However, exchanging hostages and prisoners is often a highly tense political situation for the Red Cross. The organization firmly believes that maintaining neutrality in every conflict is essential for its role.

Refugees eat food in a tent of the Armenian Red Cross registration centre, near the border town of Kornidzor, on September 26, 2023.

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The full-scale invasion of Ukraine by Russia has reignited large-scale mechanized warfare in Europe, prompting the ICRC to once again visit prisoners of war on both sides. This year, the organization also facilitated the exchange of hundreds of prisoners in the Yemen conflict, and in 2016, it helped in the exchange of 21 girls in Nigeria who had been kidnapped by Boko Haram militants.

The recent statement issued by the ICRC emphasized the critical importance of its foundational principles of impartiality and neutrality in its work with hostages in Israel and Gaza.