Red Cross officials 'express outrage' over the way Palestinian prisoners were released from Israel

In the first use of the word from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Israel’s war with Hamas, officials were reportedly “outraged” by the way Palestinian prisoners were released from Israeli jails in Israel on Saturday. 

Under the agreement between Israel and Hamas, 33 hostages are to be released in exchange for either 30 Palestinian prisoners per civilian hostage or 50 per Israeli soldier over a 42-day period. According to Haaretz, of the 72 Palestinian prisoners freed on Saturday in exchange for hostages Ofer Kalderon, Yarden Bibas, and Keith Siegel, 14 were serving life sentences.

The release of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners has sparked controversy and provoked anger on both sides.

Haaretz cited a security source saying that Red Cross personnel had expressed outrage over the way the Israel Prison Service led the prisoners out of Ketziot on Saturday morning. They were handcuffed with their hands above their heads, and wearing a bracelet with the phrase, "The eternal people never forget."

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The Israeli Prison Service put these on the arms of the terrorists we released

It's from Psalms 18:38: "I will pursue my enemies & catch them"

They also put ones saying: "The eternal people do not forget," along with the Prison Service emblem & the flag of Israel pic.twitter.com/7HI8eHJ55Z

— Documenting Israel (@DocumentIsrael) January 31, 2025

The bracelets also had part of a verse from Psalms 18:38: "I will pursue my enemies and catch them," together with the Prison Service emblem and the flag of Israel.

Zivan Frieden, spokesman for the Israel Prison Service responded with the statement: "Prison guards are dealing with the worst of Israel's enemies, and until their very last moment on Israeli soil, they will be handled under prison governance. We will not compromise on the security of our people."

The ICRC also issued a statement on 𝕏, stating that "prior to today's operation, the ICRC reminded the parties of their responsibility to ensure transfers are carried out safely and with dignity.”

“The ICRC said that its staff were on hand to provide medical support and that it conducts pre-departure interviews to ensure those set to be released are able to travel.”

Today we safely transferred three hostages out of Gaza to Israel, and 175 Palestinian detainees from Israeli detention centres to Gaza and the West Bank. In total 183 detainees were released today. https://t.co/GWqjheHvQt pic.twitter.com/Vyoe1T80rh

— ICRC in Israel & OT (@ICRC_ilot) February 1, 2025

The ICRC describes itself as “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.”

However, many Israelis have expressed disappointment and anger with the Red Cross, particularly concerning its failure to visit the Israeli hostages held captive by Hamas in the Gaza Strip even once since Oct. 7, 2023, as they are required to do according to their charter.

The organization faced criticism for appearing ineffective, if not complicit, in the intimidating and humiliating conditions under which Israeli hostages were released. According to critics, Hamas exploited the moment for propaganda, forcing female hostages to wear fake soldier uniforms, wave, and even express gratitude, among other degrading stunts while the Red Cross stood by without expressing any outrage. More recently, the organization even participated in a photoshoot alongside Hamas.

Former Israeli diplomat, Lenny Ben-David posted on 𝕏: “​​Hamas's disgusting propaganda film of the release of 4 Israeli hostages with the Red Cross playing its supporting role. Each woman with her Hamas key ring and goodie bag. It wasn't enough for Hamas to violate them on Day 1.”

Hen Mazzig said, “The Red Cross reprimanded Israel for taking photos of the release of Hamas prisoners from Israeli prisons. Meanwhile in Gaza… they have yet to condemn Hamas’s spectacle and actively participated in a staged hostage release photoshoot. The hypocrisy is obscene.”

In a statement about their goals in Israel’s war against Hamas, ICRC has said, “Our objective is that hostages are released immediately and reunited with their loved ones, as well as to gain access to them while they are in captivity. We have repeatedly said that the taking of hostages is in violation of International Humanitarian Law and that they must be released immediately and unconditionally.”

However, UN Watch observed several months into the war that ICRC had “adopted an overwhelmingly skewed approach” in its social media. At the time of the UN Watch analysis, the director of ICRC Operations was Pierre Krähenbühl, who was previously Commissioner General of UNRWA, a body that Israel has long complained about for some of its employees' active involvement with the Hamas terrorist organization.

The UN Watch report noted that out of 187 posts on 𝕏, including those by ICRC President Mirjana Spoljaric Egger and Dir.-Gen. Robert Mardini, “77% were focused on criticizing Israel, expressly or by implication. Only 7% of the tweets criticized Hamas.

Hillel Neuer, executive director of UN Watch and international human rights lawyer said, “The Red Cross claims to be neutral, but its public statements are anything but.” Neuer added, “While it’s difficult to judge what the Red Cross does behind closed doors in its diplomatic work, we can certainly assess their public statements, and what we found is alarming. The world’s leading humanitarian organization is failing to uphold its core principles of neutrality. It’s failing to call out a terrorist group that systematically violates the Geneva Conventions and the principles of international humanitarian law.”