Red Cross chief decries Israel-Hamas war as world's 'moral failure'

International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) President Mirjana Spoljaric Egger attends a briefing in Geneva, Switzerland, December 14, 2022. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse

The leader of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) on Tuesday decried the Israel-Hamas war as a "moral failure" of the world and urged both sides to agree to a cease-fire.

"I have been speaking of moral failure because every day this continues is a day more where the international community hasn't proven capable of ending such high levels of suffering and this will have an impact on generations not only in Gaza," ICRC president Mirjana Spoljaric told journalists in Geneva following trips to the Gaza Strip and Israel.

"There's nothing without an agreement by the two sides, so we urge them to keep negotiating..." she said, referring to the release of Israeli hostages taken to Gaza by Hamas terrorists during their deadly rampage in southern Israel on Oct. 7.

"The releases in themselves are highly complex, highly sensitive missions."

A temporary cease-fire mediated by Qatar and Egypt lasted one week and resulted in the release of 110 hostages held in Gaza in exchange for 240 Palestinian prisoners.

Israel said Hamas broke the terms of the agreement on Dec. 1 by refusing to release additional female hostages, resulting in the resumption of fighting.

On Tuesday, Israeli President Isaac Herzog said his country was ready for another truce to resume hostage releases.