The International Red Cross: Exposed.

The neutral humanitarian body is neither neutral nor humanitarian. And now, for the first time, we have proof.

In a groundbreaking new report, RealityCheck has uncovered specific evidence that the International Committee of the Red Cross (the “ICRC”) habitually violates its duty of neutrality, as well as its obligations under international law: putting Israelis, and the world at large, in danger.

Photo: AI image for illustration only. Not a real depiction.

The ICRC is a supposedly neutral, humanitarian body, tasked with protecting civilians in conflict zones. Yet  Israelis have long been disturbed by a general sense that the neutral humanitarian body is neither neutral nor humanitarian, especially after its failure to visit Israeli hostages held in Gaza, and its participation in Hamas’s cruel “hostage release ceremonies.” The ICRC vigorously denies the allegations, stating that it has no choice or control over certain situations, and that it fulfills its duty of neutrality throughout. RealityCheck has, for the first time, proven the ICRC’s claims to be incorrect, with specific examples.

In our exclusive report, which is based on specialized OSINT (open source intelligence) and dark web research, we uncovered examples of ICRC officials discussing strategy and communications with Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, speaking about the IDF and the Israeli government as an enemy, and prioritizing Palestinians (including terrorists) over Israeli civilians.  The following are several notable examples.

Officially, the ICRC meets with armed non-state actors (including terror organizations) for the purpose of visiting captives and providing aid to civilians.  The ICRC violated these standards in a meeting on February 18, 2020, when Gilan Devorn, Director of the ICRC in Gaza, his deputy Fayez Al-Aqraa, and ICRC Public Relations and Media Officer Youssef Al-Yaziji, met with senior leaders of the internationally designated terror organization, Palestinian Islamic Jihad.  Specifically, the meeting included senior terror operatives Hajj Abu Wasim Al-Wadiyyah, Sheikh Khader Habib, Hajj Abu Hazem Badr, and Sheikh Omar Foura.  

According to Palestinian Islamic Jihad, the Red Cross officials met with the terror leaders to discuss “the role of the International Committee of the Red Cross in pressuring the Israeli occupation” and “efforts to expose the crimes of the Israeli occupation.” The content of this meeting violates ICRC’s standards for appropriate interactions with non-state armed groups.

Another violation of the ICRC’s principles occurred on February 2, 2014, when its spokespeople Masada Saif and Youssef Al-Yaziji met with senior leadership of the internationally designated terror organization, Hamas. The meeting included Hamas’s Director of Public Relations and Government Media Office Ihab Al-Ghusain, who also served with the Hamas Ministry of Interior and National Security.  Reportedly, the purpose of the meeting  was to coordinate messaging, enhance cooperation, and provide training for journalists. None of these priorities fit the ICRC’s mission of meeting armed groups to further humanitarian goals, provide aid to civilians, or visit captives. 

Al-Ghusain, an internationally designated terrorist combatant, was subsequently killed in an Israeli airstrike on July 7, 2024. At the time of the strike, Al-Ghusain was hiding among human shields in a Gaza school that, according to Israeli officials, had been converted into a Hamas weapons manufacturing facility.

ICRC spokesperson Hisham Mhanna states that the ICRC’s “top priority” in Gaza is to secure the release of Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails. Mhanna’s statement indicates that the return of Israeli hostages from captivity is a lower priority (if at all), as is the safety of Israelis from terror attacks. Many of the Palestinians held in Israeli jails were convicted of acts of terrorism, and their capture is therefore critical for the safety of Israelis and the world at large, an issue that Mhanna neglected entirely. Prioritizing Palestinians over Israelis, and advocating for the release of convicted terror operatives, violates ICRC’s obligation to maintain neutrality and to uphold humanitarian law. 

Moreover, Mhanna habitually refers to casualties in Gaza, including Hamas combatants, as “martyrs.” In Islamic thought, a “martyr” is someone who dies for their faith and for a noble cause. In the case of terror combatants, the “noble cause” is killing or attempting to kill Israelis. Mhana refers to the government of Israel as well as the IDF by the term, “the occupation authorities.” This is the vocabulary used by Palestinian terror organizations when referring to Israel as an enemy. Praising the nobility of killing Israelis and speaking of Israel as an enemy (even implicitly) are acts that violate both international law as well as the ICRC’s neutrality obligations.

Surouq Hijawi, who holds the position of “security official” for the ICRC, praised terrorism against Israelis on Facebook. Specifically, on July 20, 2023 Hiawi posted a photo of several Palestinian terrorists who had died while carrying out attacks against Israelis, along with the caption, “May God have mercy on the martyrs #Congratulations on your martyrdom in heaven.”  The pictured terrorists included Ahmed Dragmeh -  commander of the Tubas Battalion of Palestinian Islamic Jihad, Mahmood Al Saadi, of Palestinian Islamic Jihad’s violent “Al Quds” Brigade, Wadih Abu Ramoz, who was shot while throwing firebombs at Israeli police, and Muhammad Turkman, one of the perpetrators of a violent terror attack against Israelis known as the “Jordan Valley Operation.”

The notion that the ICRC is not entirely neutral or humanitarian is not a new one, yet until now it has been notoriously difficult to accumulate actual data sufficient to overcome the ICRC’s fervent denials. At RealityCheck we are committed to exactly this kind of research.  We will be bringing this, and additional data, to the attention of the ICRC, the White House, members of the United States Congress, and representatives of relevant European parliaments as well as other ICRC donor nations.

We encourage you, our readers, to bring this matter to the attention of your local community and your elected officials.