"We have not been able to discover any trace of installations for exterminating civilian prisoners." That is what the Red Cross published on Nov. 22, 1944, after visiting the Auschwitz II-Birkenau death camp, where 1.1 million people were murdered.
The same humanitarian organization has proven too many times in the last fifteen months that when it comes to Jews, they are simply useless. On live television, the world saw exactly who the Red Cross answers to in Gaza, and it isn't to the principles of impartiality, humanity, or justice they claim to uphold.
Over the weekend, Jews were once again subjected to watching the release of our female hostages turn into spectacles of intimidation and dehumanization. Thousands of Gazans gathered in the Rimal neighborhood of Gaza, chanting antisemitic slurs, whipping out their phones to film the female hostages as if they were at a Coachella concert. Three young innocent Jewish girls, surrounded by hundreds of masked Hamas operatives who had finally stopped dressing up as civilians, participated in a propaganda show for the world to see.
The Red Cross shows up, seeing these hostages for the first time in 471 days, while crowds of Palestinians attempted to break into their vans to lynch Doron, Emily, and Romi. Gunned Hamas operatives stood on the roof of Red Cross vehicles. I am unaware of any other warzone where the Red Cross allows armed gunmen to stand atop its vehicles with hostages inside. The photos of Hamas and the Red Cross tell you everything you need to know about Hamas' war strategy. The terrorist organization exploits and weaponizes humanitarian organizations that claim to be "neutral."
All of it is disgusting and completely unjust. The certificates that Hamas made the Red Cross sign, the "going home bags" Hamas gave to the female hostages filled with photos of their captivity and maps of Gaza as if they were leaving some resort – all of it is so sickening that our stomachs have been in knots for days.
How the Red Cross has handled this hostage crisis, in comparison to how they have handled others in the past, only reiterates how useless they are here. The organization visited the American hostages in the occupied US embassy in Iran in 1979 and provided food and medical assistance to Japanese hostages kidnapped by guerrilla forces in Peru. They even delivered a letter to a New York Times reporter held hostage by the Taliban. Yet, for 473 days, the most the Red Cross has done for the hostages in Gaza is act as a taxi service upon their release from captivity.
In a recent "coincidental" social media post, the Red Cross published a video explaining why they remain silent when dealing with armed groups to access vulnerable civilians who need it most. Yet, their silence on Hamas' atrocities has clearly not worked. They have delivered no food, have not seen the hostages once, and have failed to provide families with even proof of life of the captives in Gaza.
Some might claim that criticisms of the Red Cross are harsh, that they have every intention of wanting to help the hostages but are unable to because Hamas refuses access. In a conversation with a hostage family whose loved one was eventually murdered by Hamas, the Red Cross told them they could not exert diplomatic pressure on Hamas or leverage their aid efforts for access to the hostages because it is against their policy to use aid as leverage. This policy simply shows that their approach does not work. It reveals them as another organization surviving on donations and a reputation for "good work" while failing to deliver in the most critical situations. Any organization can drive a truck into Gaza to pick up hostages; the Red Cross lacks the mechanisms to deal with jihadist groups like Hamas.
The Red Cross has failed its own mission because its policies are not designed to address jihadists whose mandate is self-sacrifice at the expense of their own people. This mirrors the inadequacy of international law in dealing with non-state terror entities. The Red Cross and similar agencies lack the tools to be effective when facing the genocidal death cult that rules Gaza. Hamas knows this and exploits it.
We cannot live in a world where terrorists evade accountability because organizations want to be "neutral" or "impartial." Such inaction and silence ultimately side with oppressive regimes and terror organizations. The Red Cross has not learned from its historical failures during the Holocaust, and its conduct in Gaza only reinforces its pattern of selective morality, undermining its credibility in crises involving Jewish victims.
