Red Cross Issues Rare Criticism of Hamas After Fake Hostage Body Handover

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) issued a rare criticism of Hamas on Tuesday after the terrorist organization staged a fake retrieval of a body it falsely claimed to be that of a missing hostage.

As Breitbart News reported, Hamas dug a hole, retrieved human remains from a building, buried the remains, summoned the Red Cross, pretended to discover the remains, then handed over the remains.

The Red Cross delivered the remains to Israel in a coffin. After forensic investigation, Israel determined that the remains were those of a murdered hostage whose remains had partly been recovered two years before.

An Israel Defense Forces (IDF) drone filmed the entire ruse from start to finish, leading to outrage in Israel.

The Red Cross criticized Hamas for abusing the transfer of remains. The Times of Israel reported:

“Our team only observed what appeared to be the recovery of remains without prior knowledge of the circumstances leading up to it,” the statement says.

“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,” it adds.

“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 Red Cross has drawn criticism from Israelis for failing to visit any of the hostages in Gaza during their captivity — as international law requires — and for allowing Hamas to hold hostages under its proverbial nose. One freed hostage later said that he had been held beneath a Red Cross office in Gaza for twelve hours.