Geneva, June 6, 2025 — The president of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Mirjana Spoljaric, has delivered a scathing condemnation of the ongoing war in Gaza, declaring the situation there “worse than hell on earth” during an interview with the BBC.
Speaking from the ICRC headquarters in Geneva, just steps away from a display of the organization’s three Nobel Peace Prizes, Spoljaric said that the scale of human suffering in Gaza has only intensified in recent months. Reflecting on her earlier comment in April that described Gaza as “hell on earth,” she said the reality has since deteriorated further.
“It has become worse,” she said. “We cannot continue to watch what is happening. It’s surpassing any acceptable, legal, moral, and humane standard. The level of destruction, the level of suffering. More importantly, the fact that we are watching a people entirely stripped of its human dignity. It should really shock our collective conscience.”
Spoljaric stressed the urgency for states to intervene, calling for an immediate end to the war, the alleviation of Palestinian suffering, and the release of Israeli hostages still held since the October 7, 2023 attacks.
Her words carry significant weight, given the ICRC’s historic and legal role in global humanitarian affairs. The organization has been at the forefront of conflict relief efforts for over 160 years and is the official custodian of the Geneva Conventions—international treaties designed to protect civilians and regulate the conduct of war.
Adopted in the aftermath of World War II, the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949 aimed to prevent mass civilian casualties, a standard that, according to Spoljaric, is now being violated in full view of the international community.