The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has not had the opportunity for more than 590 days to visit hostages in Gaza and provide them with medical care. However, Communications Coordinator for the International Committee of the Red Cross Jacob Kurtzer tells Fox News Digital that the organization has been ready to provide hostages with medical assistance “from day one” — despite not being granted access to them.

“It’s no secret that the ICRC has not been able to visit hostages to carry out the work that’s mandated — to carry out our humanitarian work, to visit, to bring medicine,” Kurtzer told Fox News Digital. “I can assure you it’s not for lack of trying, and I can assure you that every single day, our colleagues here, our colleagues at headquarters, and our colleagues at other delegations are working to try to find a way to get access.”

International Red Cross (ICRC) vehicles drive in Deir el-Balah as they transport US-Israeli hostage Edan Alexander on May 12, 2025, after being handed over by Al-Qassam Brigades. Palestinian militant group Hamas said its armed wing handed over a US-Israeli hostage held in Gaza since October 2023 on Monday, ahead of a regional visit by US President Donald Trump. (EYAD BABA/AFP via Getty Images)

Beyond the hostages, ICRC is tasked with providing humanitarian assistance in Gaza, something Kurtzer said is urgently needed. He called the situation in the Strip “catastrophic.”

Kurtzer recalled the relief that the recent ceasefire provided those on the ground in Gaza. 

“It provided hope. It provided hope for families on all sides. It provided hope to families of the hostages. It provided hope for people living inside Gaza,” Kurtzer said. However, the resumption of military action has “contributed to a sense of despair,” he said.

A truck loaded with humanitarian aid for the Gaza Strip makes its way to the Kerem Shalom crossing in southern Israel, Israel-Gaza border, Tuesday, May 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)

Since Kurtzer spoke with Fox News Digital, Israel has altered its position on humanitarian access, now allowing some aid trucks into Gaza. However, critics argue that the scale of assistance remains insufficient.

U.K. Foreign Minister David Lammy announced on Tuesday that his country was suspending trade talks with Israel over the handling of the war in Gaza. French President Emmanuel Macron also condemned Israel in a post on X. Additionally, U.N. Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Tom Fletcher said the aid being allowed in was a “drop in the ocean.”

“We really believe that the path forward is one where humanitarian assistance is allowed in and we urgently and we appeal over and over again for the parties themselves to find a better path forward because what we’re seeing now is just really very, very devastating,” Kurtzer told Fox News Digital.