Greg Bouwer
IINZ
With the release of hostage Edan Alexander, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has once again emerged from the shadows – not to speak out for justice, not to condemn Hamas, and certainly not to assist in the negotiation of his release – but to collect him at the gate and smile for the cameras.
Let’s be clear: the Red Cross did nothing to secure Edan’s freedom. It had no hand in negotiations. It offered no meaningful pressure on Hamas. It provided no proof of life, no visits, no medical support, no updates to his family. For over 500 days, like with the 58 remaining hostages still held in Gaza, the Red Cross was missing in action.
This is not a one-off oversight. It is part of a disturbing pattern of cowardice and complicity. The ICRC claims to be a neutral humanitarian organisation. But neutrality in the face of terror is not virtue – it is failure. Worse: it becomes collaboration by silence. When the Red Cross refuses to publicly denounce the war crime of hostage taking; when it does not demand access or apply sustained pressure on Hamas; when it stays silent while hostages, including women and children, are tortured, raped, or murdered – then it becomes an accessory to those crimes through its indifference.
Let’s remember: the ICRC was on the ground immediately after October 7. It saw the carnage firsthand. It knew hostages had been dragged into Gaza. It knew babies, grandparents, and foreign nationals were among them. And yet, since then, not a single Red Cross representative has visited any hostage in captivity. Not a single family has received any message or confirmation of their loved one’s condition. The organisation that proudly demands access to detainees in every conflict has shown no such insistence here.
And now, when others have risked their lives and negotiated under fire to free a hostage, the Red Cross suddenly reappears – to escort the hostage out, accept credit, and polish its reputation.
This is not humanitarianism. It is hypocrisy.
The ICRC needs to answer for its dereliction of duty. It must be held accountable for its silence. And it must no longer be treated as a neutral player in this crisis until it proves, with action (not just logos on vests) that it is willing to stand up for the most basic principles of humanitarian law.
The question is simple: what is the Red Cross actually doing for the hostages still in Gaza?
Right now, the answer is shameful.
This article was originally published by the Israel Institute of New Zealand.
