By Kate Forbes, President of the IFRC
On Sunday, I received news that left me heartbroken and enraged: eight members from the Palestine Red Crescent Society were killed in Gaza. One member of the National Society remains missing. We stand with their families and colleagues as they await news.
They died while doing what many of us in the humanitarian world dedicate our lives to—helping others.
Their loss is devastating. But what is even more devastating is that their deaths are not isolated. They are part of a growing and horrifying pattern of violence against humanitarian aid workers.
Since the escalation of the conflict, we have lost thirty-six staff members- thirty from the Palestine Red Crescent and six from Magen David Adom. And globally since the beginning of 2025, ten staff members and volunteers were killed while on duty.
Those people were not combatants.
They were not a threat.
They were humanitarians—sons, daughters, parents, colleagues, and friends. They should have been protected.
Their deaths are unbearable loss, not only for the Palestine Red Crescent Society but for the entire Red Cross and Red Crescent family.
As I reflected on this tragedy, I remembered a moment from my visit to Gaza last year. One of the Palestine Red Crescent staff members looked at me and said, “We are all on the waiting list… the waiting list to die.”
Those words haunt me. They always will.
Because behind them lies a truth: even in the most dangerous and dehumanizing conditions, there are people who continue to help others—knowing well that every day may be their last.
The fact that you know you might die, but you still choose to help others—that is the purest reflection of what it means to be a humanitarian.
Yesterday, we observed a moment of silence in IFRC Offices around the world. The flags at the IFRC headquarters in Geneva are flying at half-mast.
We paused, we grieved, we remembered.
We observed a moment of silence, but we will not be silent.
We cannot be. We must not be.
We must continue to raise our voices, collectively and persistently. We must call on governments and decision-makers to uphold their responsibilities under international humanitarian law.
We must remind them of their legal and moral obligations to protect humanitarian workers.
The protection of our staff and volunteers is not optional. It is fundamental to the principles that bind us together as a global community. Every time a Red Cross and Red Crescent volunteer or staff is targeted, every time an ambulance is struck, every time a life is lost while saving another—it tears at the very fabric of humanity.
One of our Fundamental Principles - the principle of neutrality - means dealing with consequences, not assigning blame. In practical terms, this means we focus on helping people affected by humanitarian crises instead of pointing fingers at any party. Even amid the anguish of losing colleagues, we adhere to this principle.
Yet neutrality does not mean silence or indifference. We do not blame but we do demand justice and accountability when our staff and volunteers are targeted and killed. We raise our voice loudly to condemn these attacks in the strongest terms and to urge that they never go unpunished.
As we remember our colleagues and friends we have lost, we recommit ourselves to action.
In the name of our fallen colleagues and friends and the communities we help, we call for accountability. We call for justice.
Accountability is important for the families and loved ones of all eight members who were killed, for the one who is still missing, for the entire Red Cross and Red Crescent family, and for the whole humanitarian community.
