The families of the hostages in Gaza harshly denounced the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) on Monday, which marks the UN World Humanitarian Day.
"Monday, August 19th, marks the United Nations' World Humanitarian Day. It also marks 319 days in which 115 hostages - men, women, and children - have been subjected to cruelty and inhumane conditions in Gaza," the Hostages Families Forum Headquarters wrote.
The forum noted that "humanitarian law clearly states that missing persons, whether soldiers or civilians, must be protected. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) was entrusted by the international community with a sacred mandate to protect and save the lives of victims of armed conflicts. Yet, not a single one of the 115 hostages has received any aid from this organization."
However, it added, "In over ten months, 115 hostages have received: Zero visits, zero medical aid, zero confirmation of dignified burial for those who were murdered, zero condemnation of the repeated grave violations against the hostages committed by Hamas."
The families continued: "ICRC, you profess to protect lives and uphold rights. In 2017, you yourselves declared: 'Persons captured alive must be accounted for and treated humanely. Human remains, too, must be handled with dignity, identified and returned to the families concerned.'
"ICRC, you have catastrophically failed 115 people - from elderly in their 80s to toddlers under five - who were forcibly taken from their beds, snatched from a music festival, and torn from their families 319 days ago."
The forum concluded: "ICRC, your inaction speaks volumes. Your silence is deafening. It's time to live up to your mandate. It's time to act."