GOP Senators Put Red Cross on Notice After ‘Neutral’ Aid Organization Participates in Hamas Propaganda Ceremony
19th February 2025
When Hamas gunmen paraded emaciated Israeli hostages across a stage in Gaza earlier this month, they were flanked by two representatives from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), an aid group that boasts of its neutrality. The agency’s participation in the choreographed propaganda display—as well as its failure to visit the hostages as they struggled in captivity—is now drawing scrutiny on Capitol Hill, with GOP lawmakers questioning the Red Cross’s objectivity and care for those still held in captivity.
The most shocking scene to date unfolded two weekends ago, when Hamas militants forced three severely malnourished Israeli captives—Ohad Ben Ami, 56; Eli Sharabi, 52; and Or Levy, 34—to make a speech to a crowd of Gazans before their release. Standing beside the masked gunmen were two Red Cross officials identified by the Washington Free Beacon as Nour Khadam and Stephanie Eller, both of whom have been featured in the ICRC’s online materials.
Footage from the hostage release shows Khadam shaking hands with a Hamas militant as Eller stands behind him, and a masked Hamas soldier snaps photographs. Like other Red Cross officials present at these stage-managed events—reportedly produced by an Al Jazeera journalist—Eller and Khadam signed documents and stood on hand while the terror group forced the hostages to thank their captors. Photos taken on the day show the Israelis holding certificates provided by Hamas as they are interviewed next to gun-touting militants.