The president of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Mirjana Spoljaric Egger, has warned that the destruction in Gaza represents a collapse of all international standards. “What we have seen in Gaza exceeds all legal, ethical, moral and humanitarian norms,” she stated in an interview with Dutch newspaper NRC, this week.
Spoljaric Egger said that Gaza illustrates the rapid deterioration of international humanitarian law. “Gaza may have provided the most tangible evidence of the erosion of international law,” she explained. “I visited Gaza twice within twelve months. The hostilities never stopped. There was not a minute when you didn’t hear gunfire. When your body did not feel the shelling.”
Spoljaric Egger recalled that on her return visit, she no longer recognised the area: “I could no longer orient myself. The first time, individual buildings were attacked. Every neighbourhood was hit, but not completely destroyed. When I returned, nothing was left.”
During the interview, Spoljaric Egger described the killing of 15 ICRC colleagues in Gaza, whose ambulance was struck by Israeli fire. “It was difficult to look at the photos of that event. More than difficult, I couldn’t look at them; I’m devastated. Perhaps also because I saw my colleagues there working during the hostilities. This is something that should never have happened.”
On the legality of the military campaign, Spoljaric Egger said: “We cannot accept warfare that leads to this situation.”
When asked about Israel’s claim of acting in self-defence, she responded: “That is no excuse for breaking the law. You have the same situation in your national legal system. When someone murders a member of your family, that does not give you the right to kill their family members. That is simply not how it works. It is exactly the same principle.”
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