The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) on Sunday called for an urgent ceasefire and protection of civilians in Gaza following Israeli airstrikes that killed two of its employees.

ICRC stated that the strikes of May 24 killed Ibrahim Eid, a weapon contamination officer for the ICRC, and Ahmad Abu Hilal, a security guard at the Red Cross Field Hospital in Rafah.

Additionally, ICRC repeated calls for the “protection of civilians, including, humanitarian relief, and civil defence personnel.”

Under international humanitarian law, all parties to a conflict have an obligation to distinguish between civilians and combatants. According to the principle of distinction, highlighted in Article 48 of Additional Protocol I to the Geneva Conventions, parties must direct military operations only against military objectives.

Furthermore, Article 18 of the Fourth Geneva Convention establishes protections to the work of humanitarian organizations, stating that civilian hospitals and staff must be protected by all parties at all times, and that parties to the conflict must take the “necessary steps to make the distinctive emblems indicating civilian hospitals clearly visible to the enemy land.”

In May of 2024, ICRC established a field hospital in Rafah, Gaza, in response to the escalating humanitarian and healthcare crisis in the region. The facility was designed to provide essential emergency healthcare to around 200 patients a day.

In March, the IDF struck a building belonging to the Red Cross in Gaza, citing incorrect identification as the cause of the attack. Despite having no reported casualties and no directed blame, the ICRC condemned the strike as it severely impacted the organization’s ability to carry out humanitarian operations.