Head of International Red Cross Calls Gaza War a Moral Failure

A child ran among the ruins of buildings as a result of an Israeli attack on the Gaza Strip, Palestine. (UNRWA/Ashraf Amra)

JAKARTA - The chairman of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) on Tuesday deplored the conflict in Gaza as a "moral failure" of the international community, urging Israel and Hamas to reach a new agreement to stop the fighting.

"I have spoken about moral failure, because every day this continues, is a day that the international community has not proven capable of ending such enormous suffering and this will impact generations not only in Gaza," ICRC President Mirjana Spoljaric told reporters in Geneva after a trip to the Gaza Strip and Israel, reported by Reuters, December 20.

"There is nothing without both sides agreeing, so we urge them to continue negotiating," he continued, referring to the release of Israeli hostages taken to Gaza by the Hamas militant group in an attack on southern Israel on October 7.

It is known that the ceasefire mediated by Qatar and Egypt for a week at the end of November between Hamas and Israel was able to free 110 hostages in Gaza in exchange for 240 Palestinian women and teenagers from Israeli prisons.

Fierce fighting resumed on December 1 and several of the remaining hostages were declared dead in abstia by Israeli authorities.

Although the ICRC facilitated the release of hostages during the ceasefire, the group has been criticized by some Israelis for not doing more to free others and provide them with medical care.

Some social media users compared it to a taxi service driving hostages out of Gaza.

"You should not go there and take hostages and then take them out," Spoljaric said, saying that any analogy with Uber or taxi services was "unacceptable and outrageous."

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last week confirmed new talks were underway to free hostages still being held by Hamas, after a source said Israel's intelligence chief met with the Qatari prime minister.

"We continue to hold talks with all parties and then be ready to operationalize the agreement they reached," said Spoljaric.

"What is clear is that at the current level of hostilities, a meaningful humanitarian response remains very difficult, if not impossible," he said.