Debunking harmful narratives about our work in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territory

No. The ICRC is a neutral humanitarian organization. We do not engage in politics. Our concern is purely humanitarian – we seek to save lives and to reduce or prevent the suffering of people caught in conflict.

In order to operate in conflict zones, the ICRC establishes trust through its confidential dialogue with all parties to the conflict with the objective of alleviating the suffering of those affected by it.

This allows us to conduct a vital part of our work: to remind the warring parties of their obligations under international humanitarian law – something that we also do publicly – and to raise, directly and candidly, our concerns about the conduct of hostilities. The content of those confidential conversations is something we do not discuss publicly.

By publicly calling out one warring side or another, or disclosing the content of our confidential conversations, we would risk losing the trust of the sides and the direct access and vital space to speak with all parties to the conflict about the need to protect civilians during hostilities. It might also jeopardize our ability to bring life-saving assistance to people in need.

To some it may seem as if we are not outspoken enough. But based on decades of experience, we know that directly advocating with those we are trying to influence is the most effective approach.

We are fully aware that our neutrality and principles are not always well understood. However, our neutrality and impartiality are critical to our ability to operate in any context. We continue our efforts to inform people, including parties to the conflict, about what the ICRC can and cannot do based on our mandate and principles.

To answer the frequently asked questions “why are you silent”, watch this short video.

Never. The ICRC firmly denies all allegations of espionage. We are committed to upholding humanitarian principles and ethics in all our operations. These false claims put at risk the safety of our staff and hinder humanitarian aid from reaching those in need.

The ICRC's confidential dialogue with all parties to the conflict allows us to conduct a vital part of our work: reminding the parties of their obligations under international humanitarian law and raising our concerns about the conduct of hostilities.

This dialogue with parties to the conflict allows us to advocate discreetly and constantly for the protection of civilians during hostilities. It is life-saving work and should not be misunderstood for anything else.

Throughout the conflict, the ICRC received requests to evacuate hospitals in the north of Gaza. However, the extremely difficult security situation – together with roads blocked and unreliable communications - meant we could not regularly safely access the area so were not involved in many of these evacuations.

Only recently were the ICRC – together with the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) – able to conduct medical transfers of small numbers of critical patients and patients requiring specialized care from hospitals who could no longer provide the appropriate care to other medical facilities.  

It is unacceptable that civilians, including babies and children, pay such a terrible price in this conflict.

The ICRC has consistently stressed the need for safe humanitarian access throughout Gaza, including the north. The ICRC stands ready to fulfil its role as a neutral intermediary during conflicts and is fully committed to providing support to evacuate the sick and wounded. We repeat our call for the necessary conditions to be met in order to do that. Only the parties to the conflict can provide this. Without that agreement in place, evacuations can put more lives in danger, including those of civilians. The ICRC has repeatedly reiterated that, following evacuation orders, all must be done to spare civilian lives, and to ensure that they have access to the basic necessities for life, including food, water, and medical care. The ICRC has continued to maintain its operations in Gaza, despite sometimes choosing to implement additional security and safety measures for its staff.

The parties to the conflict must fulfil their responsibilities to protect the wounded and the sick, and the medical personnel who care for them.

ICRC teams are in Gaza and will continue to be there. We have no intention of leaving. In fact, we are increasing the capacity of our teams there. The ICRC has over 300 staff members in Gaza, many of whom have been working relentlessly since the escalation of the armed conflict to provide much-needed relief.

Additionally, we are rotating in new experts – comprising medical, surgical and weapon contamination experts, among others – to increase the ICRC's capacity to continue supporting hospitals and deliver life-saving trauma surgery, to assist people desperate for safe drinking water or facing illness as health conditions worsen.  More recently, the ICRC has facilitated the polio vaccination of over 1,100 children at the Red Cross field hospital in Rafah. For more information on our health activities in Gaza, please see the recent Facts & Figures: Red Cross Field Hospital in Rafah, Gaza Strip.

Decisions on the ICRC personnel and supplies brought into Gaza are based purely on humanitarian needs. Access is made possible through our regular and constant dialogue with the relevant authorities, which we carry out as a neutral, impartial and independent organization.

The arriving teams and the crucial humanitarian assistance they are bringing in provides some relief, but it is not enough. We urge parties to the conflict to enable rapid and unimpeded humanitarian access in line with international humanitarian law. A sustained supply of humanitarian assistance and personnel is desperately needed across Gaza.

We have been operating in Israel and the occupied territories since 1967 with offices in Tel Aviv, Gaza, and across the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. For more information on our recent activities, please see the key Facts & Figures from 7 October 2023 to 31 October 2024. 

The ICRC has not been able to visit any Palestinian detainees held in Israeli places of detention since 7 October 2023.

We have been actively engaging with the relevant authorities in our usual bilateral and confidential dialogue to resume informing the ICRC of the whereabouts of thousands of Palestinians held in Israeli places of detention, and to allow for the resumption of ICRC visits and family contacts for these detainees. We have also repeatedly called for detainees to be treated humanely and permitted to communicate with their relatives.

We stand ready to resume our regular detention visits as soon as possible, to continue monitoring the treatment of detainees and the conditions of detention in all relevant facilities. This remains a priority for the ICRC in Israel and the occupied territories.

To this date, we have interacted with over 1,250 released detainees – through either group or individual interviews – to gather information on their treatment and conditions of detention, informing our engagement with relevant authorities, and facilitated the return of 154 Palestinian detainees from Israeli places of detention to their families.

The ICRC has a long history of visiting detainees around the world. Our commitment to detainees and their families remains unchanged.

From the onset of the attacks of 7 October 2023, we have been tirelessly calling for the unconditional release of the hostages as a priority, while also pressing for access to them and the ability to provide medical care.

Families of hostages have lived through a nightmare for more than a year. Children, spouses, siblings, and parents have waited anxiously for news of their loved one. We have met with the families of the hostages who understandably want to ensure that their loved ones are able to continue their medical treatments. We tell them we want to deliver the medicines and share family news if we could secure access to the hostages.

In the absence of such access, the ICRC has engaged with the parties to find other ways to get the hostages the medicines they need.

The agreement reached by the parties in January 2024 to deliver medicines to the hostages does not involve the ICRC playing any part in its implementation, including the delivery of medication.

For more information on our latest statements, please visit our website or see the Frequently asked questions on ICRC and the hostages held in Gaza as well as Information for people affected by the conflict in Israel.

We did not give permission for people carrying Hamas flags to get on top of our buses in Ramallah, nor did we have the capacity to prevent people from doing so.

Worldwide, the ICRC regularly facilitates transfers of people deprived of liberty, whether detainees or hostages, acting as a trusted third party. This means we help implement a release agreement that the parties concerned have agreed to. Once that agreement is in place, our role is to make sure that people are released in a safe and dignified manner and to bring them safely to a previously agreed location by both parties.

In these types of release operations, the safety and security of everyone involved, including our own staff, is always paramount for the operation to be successful. We remind all parties, including the relatives of those being reunited, to respect our neutral role when conducting this work.

We reject antisemitism in all its forms.

After extensive historical research and introspection, the ICRC publicly expressed its deepest regret for failing to help and speak out on behalf of the millions of people exterminated in the death camps, especially the Jews persecuted and murdered by the Nazi regime.

The organization called it "the greatest failure in the history of the ICRC" and acknowledged its weaknesses and mistakes in dealing with Nazi persecution and genocide, shown by its lack of determination to stand up for the victims of Nazi persecution. This organizational failure will be remembered by the ICRC, as will the courageous acts of individual ICRC delegates at that time.

For the ICRC, the most appropriate way to honour the victims and survivors of the Holocaust is to fight for a world in which the human dignity of every man, woman and child is respected without reservation.

For more background, see our documentation on the holocaust and the ICRC.

Ensuring that assistance reaches the people who need it the most is the top priority for the ICRC. We have robust oversight and risk mitigation measures in place to ensure that aid reaches the intended affected populations.

ICRC activities are not designed to support the actions and objectives of parties to an armed conflict, whether they are states or non-state armed groups. We are therefore extremely diligent when it comes to mitigating possible aid diversion, as it could negatively affect our acceptance and trust, hinder future access and raise security concerns for our colleagues on the ground.

The ICRC works very hard to prevent aid from being diverted and over the years, it has developed internal policies and due-diligence measures to mitigate the risk of aid diversion. This includes supplier and contractor screening, careful needs assessments, direct implementation and oversight of activities, and the auditing of distribution processes.

No. International humanitarian law states that all parties to the conflict must fully respect and protect the medical infrastructure. We have repeatedly called for the protection of hospitals, medical facilities, and health workers. This includes any misuse of such facilities.

Anywhere in the world, where the ICRC observes a violation of international humanitarian law, we address it directly with the parties in a confidential manner.

Read more: The protection of hospitals during armed conflicts

The ICRC provides documents – called Attestations of Detention (AoD) – which certify that an individual has been detained. This is a humanitarian activity undertaken by the ICRC in many places around the world, in line with the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949. Such a document in Israel is issued based on notification from the detaining authority. The ICRC is not involved in any stipend payment program involving the Palestinian Authority.

We are aware of a report on social media posts allegedly made from a personal account of an ICRC staff member. The views posted do not reflect those of the ICRC, which is a neutral and impartial humanitarian organization that works to alleviate the suffering of individuals affected by conflict on all sides. All ICRC staff members agree to, and are bound by, a code of conduct and we are investigating this matter thoroughly in line with our procedures, values, and principles.

We also strongly condemn the targeting of our staff online. While it may appear innocuous to share information online, the consequences are felt in real life by those targeted – especially when personal information is shared. Nothing warrants the targeting of individuals and calls for violence, online or offline. This puts at risk the safety of our staff, who work relentlessly to deliver on the ICRC’s mandate. It is crucial to fact-check before sharing, and to prevent the spread of harmful information to preserve the space that humanitarian organizations need to do their life-saving work. Read more on “Why is the ICRC concerned by ‘harmful information’ in war?”

The ICRC was not involved in the transfer of bodies from Israel to Gaza.

The ICRC stands ready to facilitate the transfer of the deceased as a part of its role as a neutral humanitarian intermediary if and when the parties to the conflict reach an agreement beforehand, and in consultation with the ICRC.

We reiterate that all families have the right to receive news about their loved ones and bury them respectfully and in line with their traditions.

The ICRC provides technical and material assistance, such as body bags and personal protective equipment, to responders and forensic professionals to support them in the collection and handling of the dead in line with best practices in this field. 

The ICRC consistently engages with the parties to the conflict reminding them of their obligations to respect the dignity of the dead and their families’ right to know the fate of those they have lost.