Report: Red Cross Rebukes Parents of Israeli Hostage

The Red Cross reprimanded the parents of an Israeli hostage being held by Hamas terrorists in Gaza, telling them they should "think about the Palestinian side," The Jerusalem Post reported Friday.

Earlier this week, Roni and Simona, parents of hostage Doron Steinbrecher, who was taken from Kfar Azza on Oct. 7, were invited to a meeting with the Red Cross.

Doron's parents thought the international aid organization was requesting the meeting to help get their daughter's medication to her, but instead they were scolded by Red Cross representatives.

"Think about the Palestinian side," the representatives told Simona, according to KAN. "It's hard for the Palestinians, they're being bombed."

According to the Post, Doron needs a medication she takes daily.

Simona expressed shock at the behavior of the Red Cross representatives.

"We left there as we entered: without new information, without something new, and with disappointment," Simona told the Post.

Attorney Marina Medvin shared the Steinbrecher family's story on her X — formerly Twitter — account, along with a photo of Doron; she was described as a 30-year-old veterinary nurse.

"She has been held captive for 63 days now without access to her prescription medication," Medvin said.

This isn't the first time the Red Cross has been accused of failing to step in and deliver critical medication to an Israeli hostage.

The family of Elma Avraham, an 84-year-old woman who was freed during the cease-fire, told Israeli media that the Red Cross had refused to bring Avraham the medication she needed during her captivity. Avraham was reportedly rushed to the hospital in critical condition immediately after she was released and has improved since then.

Dr. Nadav Davidovitch, who reportedly treated Avraham after her release, described a similar situation to the recounted in The Jerusalem Post.

"We were in meetings with the Red Cross and asked them to make every effort to bring the medications to her, because some hostages are just dying," Davidovitch said. "From a medical and nursing standpoint, what we witnessed is unlawful neglect."

In a letter earlier this week, eight former hostages, who were released during the recent temporary cease-fire, called on the Red Cross to visit the more than 130 hostages that remain in the Gaza Strip.

While held prisoner, they said they had been subject to a "lack of medical treatment for illnesses and injuries with culpable neglect, severe food shortage, and unsanitary living conditions," they wrote.

The current conditions of the remaining hostages are unknown.

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