Red Cross says it has no control over Hamas conduct during hostage handovers

Ahead of the slated release of eight hostages from Gaza tomorrow (three Israelis and five Thais), the International Committee of the Red Cross says it does not have any control over how Hamas conducts itself during the handover process, in light of Hamas’s questionable conduct during previous releases.

Freed hostages have noted handovers while surrounded by hostile mobs as being particularly frightening and traumatic.

“The ICRC is in contact with all sides regarding the terms of the release of hostages and detainees,” organization spokesman Gilad Grossman says in response to a query from the Times of Israel. “While we bring up our concerns, we are not the ones who determine these terms.”

During the release on January 19 of Doron Steinbrecher, Romi Gonen, and Emily Damari, the hostages were surrounded by an unruly crowd. When IDF soldiers Naama Levy, Liri Albag, Daniella Gilboa, and Karina Ariev were freed on Saturday, they were paraded on a stage in fake military uniforms while holding Hamas documentation. A Red Cross official also signed documents while sitting on the Hamas stage.

“Our mission is to ensure that we carry out what the sides have requested from us,” Grossman adds. “So far, we have successfully helped with the return of seven hostages, and are ready to carry out any further agreed-upon release operations.”

The organization declined to comment on whether it expects any changes during the releases scheduled for tomorrow and Saturday.

The Prime Minister’s Office did not respond to a request for comment on the issue.