Source: Christian Science Monitor
by staff
“The rules of war set up 75 years ago to protect lives in a conflict really do work – when they are honored. Under the terms of a Jan. 15 truce agreement, Hamas has released the first Israeli hostages in Gaza while Israel let free Palestinian detainees. More exchanges are expected in coming days. These safe transfers, complex in their logistics, were possible because of the trust that Hamas and Israel have put in the International Committee of the Red Cross, the guardian of the fourth Geneva Convention of 1949. That trust has been well earned …. Yet the Red Cross now says that this principle-driven approach is becoming more difficult in today’s wars when one or both sides ignore or ‘misinterpret’ the rules of war, resulting in massive losses of innocent life.” (01/29/25)
https://www.csmonitor.com/Commentary/the-monitors-view/2025/0129/A-vital-rejig-of-the-rules-of-war