Hadassah, The Women's Zionist Organization of America, the organization that owns the Hadassah hospitals in Jerusalem, wrote an urgent letter to the president of the International Committee of the Red Cross, Mirjana Spoljaric Egger, ahead of her visit to Israel on Thursday.
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The letter said that her scheduled visit to Israel would be pointless if she did not go to Gaza in order to ensure that medical treatment was afforded to the Israeli hostages being held there by Hamas. Hadassah strongly urged the ICRC president to carry out the humanitarian mission that his organization was founded upon by immediately tending to the Israeli captives before the window of opportunity closes.
"It is unconscionable that for more than 60 days the ICRC has not met with the hostages held in Gaza, checked their physical and psychological condition, demanded assurances about the safety of the hostages, or delivered medicine. The Red Cross has been visible in this conflict only in transporting released hostages from Hamas to Israel, a purely cosmetic role in the midst of this atrocity. Has the Red Cross ever before failed to care for hostages and victims of armed aggression in such a blatant way, or is this treatment reserved for individuals abducted from Israel?" the letter read, bearing the subject: "The Red Cross's failure to fulfill its humanitarian Role on behalf of Israeli hostages." The letter lamented that without fulfilling its mandate by attending to the needs of the hostages, the visit will have been a failure.
"It was published that you intend to come to Israel for a series of meetings with the President, the Prime Minister, and other officials. We welcome the visit, but at the same time it is important for us to emphasize that your visit to Israel is meaningless if you do not visit and treat the Israeli hostages in Gaza," Hadassah, The Women's Zionist Organization of America, said, noting that its mandate and mission call for it to be "an independent, neutral organization ensuring humanitarian protection and assistance for victims of armed conflict and other situations of violence."
