Kamsiyochukwu Mbamalu
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) on Wednesday night October 15, 2025 facilitated the transfer of two deceased hostages to Israeli authorities, acting as a neutral intermediary between the parties, at their request and with their agreement.
The ICRC in a statement it shared with Prime Business Africa on Wednesday said Israeli health and forensic authorities were responsible for identifying the remains of the deceased.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelICRC noted that the transfer of the deceased must always be carried out with dignity and privacy, even as “ICRC teams take all possible measures to ensure the deceased are handled with respect.”
It further stressed that it is the responsibility of the parties to search for, collect, and evacuate human remains.
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“The parties must endeavor to facilitate the return of the remains of the deceased to their families. The ICRC can fulfil its functions as a neutral intermediary only through the cooperation of all actors, and within the framework of the current agreement,” it said.
ICRC is a neutral, impartial and independent organization with an exclusively humanitarian mandate that stems from the Geneva Conventions of 1949. It helps people around the world affected by armed conflict and other situations of violence, doing everything it can to protect their lives and dignity and to relieve their suffering, often alongside its Red Cross and Red Crescent partners.
