Red Cross president admits fault: We could have applied pressure earlier, saved lives

The president of the Red Cross, Mirjana Spoljaric, admitted in an interview with The New York Times that the organization could have applied pressure earlier in negotiations for the return of Israeli hostages, thereby saving lives. She said that visiting hostages is more complex than returning them, and noted that she met with Prime Minister Netanyahu and with Ismail Haniyeh.

The president of the Red Cross, Mirjana Spoljaric, admitted in an interview with The New York Times published today (Saturday) that the organization could have applied pressure earlier in negotiations for the return of Israeli hostages, thereby saving lives. In the interview she was asked whether Red Cross representatives could visit hostages, and she shook her head in the negative. According to her, "visiting hostages is a far more complex matter than returning them." She clarified that Hamas should have returned them unconditionally on the first day of the war, but "that is not the reality in which we operate." Spoljaric spoke about meetings with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and with Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Qatar, describing them as difficult discussions that must remain confidential. She noted that the longer the process drags on, the more complex it becomes. In the interview she was also asked about the organization's access to security prisoners in Israeli prisons, and said that before October 7 the organization had access for decades, but in wartime obtaining access is a challenging task. The article notes that the Red Cross is perceived as having acted with insensitivity toward the Israeli hostages, but unlike other organizations it did not criticize Israel and emphasized the Palestinian side.