Geneva (ICRC) —The International Committee of the Red Cross remains extremely concerned about the lives and welfare of hostages being held in Gaza for more than four months. In addition to what they are experiencing, their families are caught between despair and hope as they wait for news about their loved ones.

STATEMENT 14 FEBRUARY 2024 ISRAEL AND THE OCCUPIED TERRITORIES

Hostage-taking is strictly prohibited under international humanitarian law. From day one, the ICRC has called, publicly and behind closed doors, for the release of all hostages immediately and unconditionally.

Also since day one and continuously since then, the ICRC has been asking to be able to visit the hostages, to check on their conditions, to deliver medical care, and to facilitate communication with their families.

Political agreements allowed more than 100 hostages to be released, and the ICRC played its role as a neutral intermediary trusted by both sides in bringing people home.

The ICRC will continue to demand the outright and unconditional release of the hostages, but it also recognizes the reality that this is unlikely without a political agreement. Such political agreements are often the only way to deal with intractable cycles of violence. The ICRC would welcome an agreement which brings the hostages home to their families and provides respite and aid to all people affected by the conflict. It stands ready to play its role as a neutral intermediary in fulfilling humanitarian aspects of such an agreement.

About the ICRC
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is a neutral, impartial and independent organization with an exclusively humanitarian mandate that stems from the Geneva Conventions of 1949. It helps people around the world affected by armed conflict and other violence, doing everything it can to protect their lives and dignity and to relieve their suffering, often alongside its Red Cross and Red Crescent partners.