04/06/2026
For nearly two years, Israel barred the ICRC from visiting Palestinian detainees and transferring information about detainees to their families.
Without independent monitoring, families—especially in Gaza—were often left in the dark about the fate of their loved ones. The lack of oversight enabled a phenomenon of systematic enforced disappearances to occur, a phenomenon HaMoked has documented since the beginning of the war.
Reports of abuse, violence, medical neglect, and inhumane detention conditions also continued to mount.
Yesterday, the Supreme Court put an end to the ICRC ban.
Following a petition led by the Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI) and joined by HaMoked, Physicians for Human Rights–Israel, and Gisha, the Court unanimously ordered the immediate restoration of Red Cross visits and the resumption of information transfers regarding detainees.
We will continue to monitor the implementation of the ruling and take further action if necessary to ensure full and meaningful Red Cross access to detainees.
For more than two and a half years, Israel blocked Red Cross visits to approximately 9,000 Palestinian security detainees held in Israeli prisons and military detention facilities.
During that time, reports continued to emerge about severe deterioration in detention conditions, including allegations of abuse, violence, and the denial of adequate food and medical care. Yet one of the most important independent monitoring mechanisms remained completely shut out.
Together with Physicians for Human Rights–Israel, HaMoked, and Gisha, ACRI petitioned the Supreme Court to end the ban.
Yesterday, we won.
In a unanimous ruling, the Court ordered the state to immediately restore Red Cross visits and resume transferring information about detainees to the organization.
The ruling also included unusually sharp criticism of the state’s conduct. Over the course of the proceedings, the government submitted more than 25 requests for extensions, repeatedly delayed its response, and failed to provide a coherent legal basis for the ban. The Court noted that it had shown “extraordinary patience” while waiting, in vain, for the state to justify its position.
The government argued that visits should remain suspended as long as Israeli hostages in Gaza were denied access to the Red Cross. But even after the remains of the last hostage were returned in January 2026, the ban remained in place. The Court ultimately ruled that the sweeping prohibition could not be justified under Israeli law or international humanitarian law.
This ruling matters because human rights are not reserved for people we like, agree with, or sympathize with.
A society committed to justice must protect the rights and dignity of every person in its custody, regardless of the accusations against them or the crimes they may have committed.
We will continue monitoring the implementation of the ruling and will return to court if necessary to ensure full and meaningful Red Cross access to detainees.
