Gaza now worse than hell on earth, humanitarian chief

Gaza has become worse than hell on earth, the head of the International Committee of the Red Cross has told the BBC.

In an interview at the ICRC's headquarters in Geneva, the organisation's president Mirjana Spoljaric said "humanity is failing" as it watched the horrors of the Gaza war.

Speaking in a room close to a case displaying the ICRC's three Nobel Peace Prizes, I asked Ms Spoljaric about remarks she made in April, that Gaza was "hell on earth", and if anything had happened since to change her mind.

"It has become worse… We cannot continue to watch what is happening. It's surpassing any acceptable, legal, moral, and humane standard. The level of destruction, the level of suffering..

Ms Spoljaric said the ICRC was deeply concerned about talk of victory at all costs, total war and dehumanisation.

"We are seeing things happening that will make the world an unhappier place far beyond the region, far beyond the Israelis and the Palestinians, because we are hollowing out the very rules that protect the fundamental rights of every human being."

If there is no ceasefire, she fears for the future of the region.

"This is vital. To preserve a pathway back to peace for the region. If you destroy that pathway forever for good, the region will never find safety and security. But we can stop it now. It's not too late."

"State leaders are under an obligation to act. I'm calling on them to do something and to do more and to do what they can. Because it will reverberate, it will haunt them, it would reach their doorsteps."

The ICRC is considered the custodian of the Geneva conventions. The fourth, agreed after the Second World War, is designed to protect civilians in wars.

The Hamas attacks on Israel on 7 October 2023 were, she said, no justification for current events.

"Neither party is allowed to break the rules, no matter what," Ms Spoljaric said.

Israel launched a military campaign in Gaza in response to Hamas' cross-border attack, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage.

At least 54,607 people have been killed in Gaza since then, including 4,335 since Israel resumed its offensive on 18 March, according to the territory's health ministry.

Appealing to parties to stop the hostilities, she said: "We cannot continue watching what is happening.

"It defies humanity. It will haunt us."

She called on the international community to do more. "Every state is under the obligation to use their means, their peaceful means, to help reverse what is happening in Gaza today," she said.