The Red Cross is suddenly "worried" about the Israeli hostages – Here's why we don't buy it

A few hours ago (Saturday), the world was confronted with a chilling tableau of human suffering as Hamas paraded three Israeli hostages before the cameras. Eli Sharabi, Or Levy, and Ohad Ben-Ami, looking like specters of the Holocaust survivors their families compared them to, were so emaciated from deliberate starvation that they could hardly muster the strength to stand. Yet, in response to this blatant display of cruelty, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) offered nothing but a hollow call for "dignified and private" releases. This tepid, almost administrative concern epitomizes the ICRC's 491 days of egregious, systemic failure in upholding its humanitarian mandate towards Israeli hostages.

Since the dark day of October 7, 2023, when Hamas launched its assault and took over 250 hostages, the ICRC has not merely failed; it has actively abdicated its responsibilities. Not once has it managed to visit any of the hostages languishing under Gaza's earth. No life-saving medications have been delivered to hostages known to suffer from chronic conditions, conditions that have undoubtedly worsened in captivity. No proof of life has been provided to the families left in agonizing limbo, desperate for any sign that their loved ones still breathe. No advocacy for humane treatment has broken through the silence, allowing Hamas to continue its torture without international rebuke.

The ICRC's silence is not just a lack of action; it's a profound moral failure. While this organization has historically been vocal in other conflicts, issuing detailed reports and condemnations regarding prisoner treatment elsewhere, it has been conspicuously muted about the plight of Israeli hostages. Even when confronted with the stark, undeniable evidence of abuse in the form of three men who had lost a staggering 30% of their body weight, the ICRC could only offer vague, evasive concerns about "release operations." This sidestepping avoids the real issue: the 491 days of torture, starvation, and psychological torment that these hostages endured.

The evidence of the ICRC's dereliction of duty was starkly visible in the gaunt faces and skeletal frames of Sharabi, Levy, and Ben-Ami as they were paraded in what can only be described as a grotesque propaganda display by Hamas. Their condition raises a damning and inescapable question: Where was the Red Cross while these men were being systematically starved and tortured?

The ICRC's history of inaction goes beyond this current crisis. Its record during the Holocaust, where it failed to intervene or even report on the genocide of Jews, casts a long shadow over its current operations. Posts on X have echoed this sentiment, with users and advocates decrying the ICRC's apparent bias and apathy towards Jewish lives. The organization's refusal to engage with the reality of the hostages' situation in Gaza, its failure to leverage its position for the welfare of those under Hamas's control, speaks volumes about where its priorities truly lie—or rather, where they do not.

The ICRC's response, or lack thereof, to the plight of these hostages is not just a policy failure; it's a humanitarian disgrace. It undermines the very principles of neutrality, impartiality, and independence that the ICRC claims to uphold. The organization's silence has been complicit in allowing the horrors in Gaza to continue unchecked, contributing to the suffering of individuals like Sharabi, Levy, and Ben-Ami, who were forced into a modern-day nightmare reminiscent of the darkest chapters of human history.

The ICRC's performance since October 7 is not just a series of missed opportunities; it's a glaring, systemic betrayal of the humanitarian principles it was established to defend. The legacy of this failure will haunt the organization, casting doubt on its ability to ever again claim moral authority in conflicts where it chooses to remain silent.