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** ICRC president urges respect for rules of war as major military escalation starts in the Middle East
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ICRC – News Release
28 February  2026
Geneva (ICRC) – The following is a statement attributable to ICRC president Mirjana Spoljaric on the escalation of major military operations in the Middle East:
The military escalation in the Middle East is igniting a dangerous chain reaction across the region, with potentially devastating consequences for civilians.
Upholding the rules of war is an obligation and not a choice. In international armed conflicts, international humanitarian law, in particular all four Geneva Conventions, apply. Civilian infrastructure such as hospitals, homes and schools must be spared from attack. Medical personnel and first responders must be allowed to carry out their work safely. 
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has teams on the ground in Iran, Israel and across the region and stands ready to respond to needs within our mandate and where we can operate, together with our Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement partners. But humanitarian aid cannot match the pace or scale of suffering caused by continuous conflict; political will is needed to achieve peace and prevent further death and destruction.
About the ICRC
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is a neutral, impartial and independent organization with an exclusively humanitarian mandate that stems from the Geneva Conventions of 1949. It helps people around the world affected by armed conflict and other violence, doing everything it can to protect their lives and dignity and to relieve their suffering, often alongside its Red Cross and Red Crescent partners.
** For more information, please contact:
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Public Relations Unit | International Committee of the Red Cross | 19, avenue de la Paix | 1202 Geneva | Switzerland
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ICRC, Avenue de la Paix, 19, Geneva, . 1201 Switzerland