ICRC president demands de-escalation in Middle East

• The ICRC warned that recurring strikes against critical facilities pose catastrophic risks to dependent civilian populations
• The Red Cross reiterated that all warring parties are legally obligated under international humanitarian law to distinguish between military targets and civilians or civilian objects at all times

The President of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) issued a warning regarding the escalating military operations across the Middle East, stating that civilians continue to bear the heaviest toll of the conflict.

The ICRC chief highlighted that the recent deaths, injuries, and destruction reported in Saudi Arabia demonstrate the "devastating losses caused by hostilities, the burden of which is borne by civilians."

The statement drew attention to the worsening humanitarian crisis in Yemen, where civilian displacement and structural damage have spiked to critical levels: "In Yemen, the scale of deaths, displacement, and damage to civilian infrastructure—including in the cities of Aden and Sana'a—has reached alarming levels," the ICRC statement noted. "Civilian infrastructure in many other parts of the Middle East has also been repeatedly targeted, resulting in loss of life."

The ICRC stressed that principles of international humanitarian law must be strictly upheld by all combatants.

The organization urged all parties "to the conflict must, at all times, distinguish between civilians, civilian objects, and military objectives. Strikes targeting ports, airports, and critical infrastructure threaten devastating consequences for the communities that depend on them."

Warning against any further military expansion, the ICRC called for an immediate halt to the escalation, declaring that continued fighting would be "catastrophic for tens of millions of people" across the region.