The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) issued a rare and sharply worded statement on Tuesday, criticizing the Hamas terrorist organization for staging the recovery of a hostage’s remains in Gaza.
Footage released by the IDF on Tuesday showed Hamas terrorists burying the body in the ground before summoning Red Cross personnel and then retrieving it in their presence, creating the false impression of a genuine discovery.
It was later announced that the remains that were handed over to Israel were those of hostage Ofir Sarfati, whose body was retrieved by the IDF in a special operation two years ago.
The ICRC said in response that it is “aware” of the IDF-issued footage and clarified that it “accepted to be present in good faith in its role as a neutral intermediary between the parties,” adding that its staff “were not aware that a deceased person had been placed there prior to their arrival, as seen in the footage.”
“Our team only observed what appeared to be the recovery of remains without prior knowledge of the circumstances leading up to it,” the statement said.
The ICRC condemned the act, declaring: “It is unacceptable that a fake recovery was staged, when so much depends on this agreement being upheld and when so many families are still anxiously awaiting news of their loved ones.”
The organization further emphasized its ongoing efforts to address the issue directly with the parties involved. “The ICRC is raising its concerns directly with the parties. We urgently reiterate our call for human remains to be handled in a dignified manner that upholds international humanitarian law obligations, as well as forensic standards. The return of human remains to their loved one should never be political.”
The footage comes amid continued delays by Hamas in the return of the bodies of Israeli hostages held in Gaza.
Under the terms of the ceasefire agreement, Hamas was required to return all hostages in its possession within 72 hours. The group released all 20 living hostages it held in time, but not all of the deceased hostages. So far, Hamas has returned 15 of the 28 deceased hostages, leaving 13 bodies still in the Strip.