Israeli comedy show mocks Red Cross as a taxi service

Popular satire show “Eretz Nehederet” lampooned the International Committee of the Red Cross Wednesday over its handling of hostages held by terrorists in the Gaza Strip, with a skit depicting the aid organization as having “pivoted to be a ride-share app.”

The ICRC, dedicated to aiding victims of war, including by visiting prisoners and detainees, has faced heavy criticism in Israel since October 7, 2023, for its failure to secure any meaningful aid for the 251 hostages taken by terrorists that day — whether by monitoring their conditions or providing them with basic humanitarian assistance, including medicine.

For its limited role in facilitating the transfer of freed hostages from Hamas to Israeli forces — both during a November 2023 ceasefire and the current one — many Israelis have come to derisively refer to the ICRC as little more than a glorified taxi service.

The English-language skit opened with a clip of vehicles carrying the Red Cross symbol driving along a road as a narrator says, “When you’ve been away for a while, you want to be taken home by someone special.”

Amid real footage showing chaotic scenes as Red Cross vehicles transporting Israeli hostages out of Gaza were swamped by masked, armed Hamas gunmen and mobs of jeering Gazans, the voiceover goes on to explain that the Red Cross is now offering a new ride-share app.

The scene then cuts to the imagined inside of a Red Cross vehicle, where a laid-back driver asks a released captive if he is pronouncing her name “Hostage” correctly.

“It’s about time! Where have you been?” the distraught woman asks. “Why didn’t you bring medicine or humanitarian aid? A sign of life to my family?”

“We don’t do that anymore,” responds the driver. “We’ve pivoted to a ride-share app.”

From the satirical sketch comedy show ‘Eretz Nehederet’:

Introducing the Red Cross Ride Share App. pic.twitter.com/97QUXoJQcl

— Karen Ievers (@karenievers) February 6, 2025

The narrator then explains that users can book a ride “and we’ll be there within 15 months,” a reference to the time the recent batch of released hostages were held in captivity, with no visits from outside monitors.

The hostage then asks, “Am I going to see my family now?”

“Of course, of course,” says the driver. “We just need to make one tiny pitstop and go do a ceremony in front of a bunch of terrorists. Is that cool?”

Before the hostage gets out of the car, the driver asks her to give him a good review, noting that “Hamas always gives five stars.”

“F-ck you!” she responds and exits the vehicle.

“Yep, probably deserved that,” the driver admits.

Throughout the war, “Eretz Nehederet” has poked fun at various international individuals and entities over their conduct, including liberal US college students, the BBC’s reportage, and Hollywood celebrities.

In response to Hamas’s refusal to allow ICRC visits to its hostages, Israel has blocked the agency’s visits to Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails, leading to criticism on that front as well.

The Red Cross has defended its actions during hostage releases, saying in a statement last week that “ensuring the safety and security of the handover operations is the responsibility of the parties to the agreement.”

It has similarly said in the past that though it made appeals on the matter, it had no way to force Hamas to give it access to hostages.