The ICRC in Israel and the occupied territories

Maps: Israel and the occupied territories

The ICRC started work in Israel and the occupied territories in 1948, following the first Israeli-Arab conflict. Its presence became permanent in the aftermath of the 1967 war. The ICRC repeatedly reminds Israel of its obligations under IHL towards the population living under occupation, through bilateral and confidential dialogue. The organization focuses on the protection of civilians and the welfare of detainees held in Israeli and Palestinian places of detention, and helps the most needy. The ICRC supports the Palestine Red Crescent Society and the Magen David Adom (the Israeli National Society). Read the full overview.

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Facts and Figures

In 2011 the ICRC:

visited over 1,600 people detained by the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank and some 340 people detained in Gaza by the Hamas authorities;
monitored the situation of some 8,000 Palestinian detainees in Israeli places of detention;
assisted more than 12,000 impoverished people in the Gaza Strip through cash-for-work projects;
worked with the Palestine Red Crescent Society to distribute monthly food parcels to over 6,100 people living in the most severely restricted parts of Hebron;
started, continued or completed work on improving access to clean water and sanitation for 790,000 people in the West Bank and Gaza Strip;
supported Gaza's health-care system by supplying 494 tonnes of drugs and disposables, which were used to treat 45,000 surgical patients;
enabled 114,887 people from the West Bank to visit their relatives in Israeli jails

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Reference documents

In images More images

International Review of the Red Cross More articles

Red Cross Red Crescent Magazine

Gaza: civilians in the firing line
On top of a year and a half of restrictions came three weeks of intense fighting. For the people of Gaza, who bore the brunt of a conflict in which there are no winners, the road to normality and dignity is still a long one. Article published in the Red Cross Red Crescent Magazine, No 1, 2009.