Red Cross chief says efforts focused on getting Gaza hostages freed, while visiting them was ‘complicated’

Asked if her organization has access to hostages in Gaza, Red Cross President Mirjana Spoljaric Egger tells The New York Times that visiting hostages is “complicated” and that the group’s efforts were focused on getting them released.

“So the objective always has to be to bring the hostages back. And the longer it takes, the more complicated it becomes. I personally think that pressure should have come earlier in the negotiations. We could have saved more lives,” she says.

“And this was the subject of our conversations. I traveled twice to Qatar to meet with the leadership of Hamas, to sit with Ismail Haniyeh at the time. I sat with Prime Minister Netanyahu myself. These were tough discussions, and trust me, we are very frank in these meetings. This is why these meetings have to always remain confidential,” she adds.

The Red Cross faced intense criticism in Israel during the war for its failure to gain access to hostages, some of whom were injured in the October 7, 2023 massacre, were elderly, or suffered from chronic illnesses.