An i24News anchor and a spokesperson for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) got into a testy exchange over the hostages being released during a four-day ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.
The host, Albert Lewitinn, repeatedly asked the spokesperson why the organization has not attempted to learn of the location and conditions of the hostages still held by Hamas.
“If I may, everyone has a phone, everyone has WhatsApp, everyone has Facebook, everyone has Instagram. So you mean to tell me that there’s no way to phone and ask, ‘Hey, is that a personal line, is that a personal line?’ I find it very hard to believe. I’m gonna be, I’m not trying to be rude with you, I’m just trying to get answers,” Lewitinn said.
“Yeah, so our answer is it is extremely important that the parties to this conflict agree on the conditions for us to have access. We cannot force ourselves in the places where the hostages are. We are not the ones who go without knowing where the hostages are,” the spokesperson said. “This, again, is the responsibility of those who can reach these agreements to put some humanity at the center of this conflict and make sure that humanitarian organizations like mine can operate.”
“What I can tell you is that our phones are all the time ringing, our president is all the time traveling to make sure that we are meeting all the conditions necessary, the information, the ability to coordinate, information that we need to make that we can facilitate the reunification of these hostages with their families,” she added.
‘I don’t understand why anyone from the Red Cross doesn’t say “How dare Hamas not tell us where and in what condition Israeli hostages are?” It’s a very simple demand!’
A testy back-and-forth between @albertlewitinn and an ICRC spokesperson about the group’s functioning in Gaza pic.twitter.com/QTx3htq7iP
— i24NEWS English (@i24NEWS_EN) November 24, 2023
Lewitinn then said that Israel would receive massive criticism if the nation did not reveal where Palestinian hostages were being held and that the Red Cross should “demand” to know the whereabouts and condition of the hostages. The Red Cross spokeswoman said the organization does not have the power to do so. (RELATED: ‘That’s Not True’: John Kirby, Bret Baier Spar Over $6 Billion Iran Deal’s Involvement In Hamas Attack)
“I don’t understand why anyone from the ICRC doesn’t say, “How dare Hamas not tell us where they are, how dare Hamas not tell us what their medical condition is.’ I just don’t understand that,” Lewitinn said.
The spokesperson responded that the organization is requesting that Hamas disclose the location of the more than 200 remaining hostages. “We are talking to Hamas, and we are asking them, ‘Please —'” she said.
“Okay, that’s exactly — that’s it, ‘Please,'” Lewitinn interjected. “That’s the part Israelis understand. ‘Please’ is not enough, it’s more that we demand in the same way that ICRC demands to get inside the Israeli prisons. How come ICRC has not been able to demand to go see the hostages? It’s a very simple demand.”
The Red Cross transported the first group of freed hostages out of Gaza on Friday, a group that included 13 Israelis who the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has said have returned to their homeland. The release of these hostages is part of the four-day ceasefire Israel and Hamas agreed upon to release 50 hostages from Gaza in exchange for Israel releasing 150 Palestinians held in Israeli prisons.
The ICRC spokesperson said the organization is “fully committed” to gather information on the hostages and return them home. She also said that the organization aims to be a “convener” between Israel and Hamas by helping people on both sides.