News Report on October 9 According to the Russian satellite news agency on October 9, U.S. President Donald Trump said his likely upcoming Middle East trip meant a visit to Egypt and did not rule out the possibility of going to the Gaza Strip.

Trump and Netanyahu shake hands.

According to reports, Trump previously said that he might travel to the Middle East on October 12.

"We haven't made a final decision yet, and I will probably go to Egypt," Trump told reporters at the White House.

When asked if he was considering the possibility of a trip to Gaza, Trump said it was possible. "I might do that," he said.

Trump noted that he would not allow Hamas to release hostages as a condition for its announced Middle East journey, saying: "I may travel to the region before the hostages are released, or soon after the hostages are released."

Reported that on the evening of the 8th, US Eastern Time, Trump posted a post on social media announcing that Israel and Hamas had agreed to the first phase of the "peace plan" proposed by the United States. This means that all Israeli detainees will be released soon and the Israeli army will withdraw to the lines agreed upon by both parties.

Extended reading

No place in Gaza is safe, it is like "hell on earth"

¡°Yesterday I left my wife in the north and spent six hours in search of shelter in Del Barah. I wanted to call every five minutes to confirm that they were well ... The past few days, a building just 50 meters from them was damaged. The explosions didn¡¯t stop in their ears, they paniced and even hundreds of meters away could feel the power of the shock wave ... Many people woke up thinking the situation was worse and worse, but the situation continued to worsen every day.¡±

This is what happened to Ahmed Wahedi, a staff member of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Gaza. In September 2025, just as Western countries set off a "wave of recognition" of the Palestinian state at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, the Israeli government, which vowed that "there will be no more Palestinian state", launched another large-scale military operation against Gaza City in the northern Gaza Strip, and demanded that millions of civilians in the area "evacuate" immediately.

"In the Gaza Strip, nowhere is truly safe. There is simply no safe place for people to move," Carbonnier, vice president of the International Committee of the Red Cross, told China News Weekly. When employees were displaced, this neutral humanitarian agency rarely issued a strongly worded statement, pointing out that the so-called Gaza City evacuation order was "neither feasible nor reasonable".

Swiss Carl Bonnier is a world-renowned humanitarian economist and has served as Vice Chairman of the International Committee of the Red Cross since 2018. In more than 130 conflict areas around the world, the International Committee of the Red Cross is almost the only international organization capable of simultaneously carrying out humanitarian assistance work on both sides of the battle line. Since October 2023, the agency has helped multiple hostages return to their homes during several brief ceasefires during the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

However, as the situation in Gaza develops in a more cruel direction, the facilities and personnel of humanitarian agencies such as the International Committee of the Red Cross have been repeatedly attacked. In March 2024, Carbonnier told China News Weekly that the goal of the International Committee of the Red Cross is to "stay as much as possible." More than a year later, he was interviewed by this magazine again. Faced with more employees' deaths and more severe humanitarian disasters, he couldn't sleep at night, but "we will still insist on staying there".

Calbonier chart / respondents provided

"In Gaza, no place is safe"

"China News Weekly": The Israeli army is launching a new round of ground military operations in Gaza City. Earlier, Israel demanded the evacuation of approximately 1 million residents in Gaza City, causing the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip to deteriorate again. In response, the International Committee of the Red Cross has made it clear that a mass evacuation order is "neither feasible nor unreasonable." How will the International Committee of the Red Cross respond to the new crisis?

by Calbonne:Yes, millions of Gazans will bear the brunt of the new evacuation order. The reality is that there is no place in the Gaza Strip that is truly safe and people simply have no safe place to move. It is not feasible in itself to issue another evacuation order to residents who are already exhausted and have nowhere to go.

The ICRC is doing its utmost to address this situation.On the one hand, at the diplomatic level, we have a direct and confidential dialogue with the Israeli government.On the other hand, we are communicating with other Parties to the Geneva Conventions, asking them to have a positive impact on the Gaza issue on the basis of their obligations under the convention and to ensure that relevant authorities respect humanitarian law.

The only final solution to the humanitarian crisis in Gaza is political. Only when all parties reach an agreement and achieve a ceasefire can humanitarian aid fully enter the Gaza Strip and the people get a respite. During previous ceasefires in the Gaza Strip, the International Committee of the Red Cross has assisted in the safe release of Israeli hostages and their departure from Gaza, as well as Palestinian detainees and their departure from Israeli prisons. But the premise of all this is that the parties concerned can reach a political agreement. We cannot achieve these goals unilaterally.

The International Committee of the Red Cross has been conducting secret consultations on the issue of humanitarian access in Gaza and on the Israeli side, but over the past few months, the International Committee of the Red Cross has repeatedly publicly condemned the restricted humanitarian access in Gaza.

by Calbonne:First, long-term, non-public dialogue can still bring positive results, such as allowing us to operate permanent hospitals in Rafah in the Gaza Strip, rotating staff to maintain the normal operation of hospitals and providing basic medical services to the people of Gaza.

Now, the flow of humanitarian and commercial supplies into Gaza is severely restricted, making the living conditions of civilians even more difficult. We call on all parties to the conflict, especially the Israeli authorities, to allow enough basic necessities to reach people in need in Gaza and to effectively protect civilians and civilian facilities, especially medical facilities, medical staff and humanitarian workers. We also call on other countries to take necessary measures to promote this goal. At the same time, we also call on Hamas to release hostages and further allow us to carry out medical assistance and humanitarian aid locally.

China News Weekly: Israel claims it supports the ¡°Gaza Humanitarian Foundation¡± as the only agency authorized to distribute humanitarian supplies. Do they have the right to designate specific agencies to distribute all humanitarian supplies, thus refusing or restricting humanitarian workers, humanitarian supplies and access to UN agencies, the International Committee of the Red Cross and other international organizations?

by Calbonne:International humanitarian law has very clear provisions on this. The occupying power must ensure that the people under its jurisdiction have access to basic living materials and services, including food, medical assistance, safe drinking water, basic sanitation conditions and security. This is an unshirkable obligation of the occupying power. If people's needs are not met, the occupying power must allow neutral humanitarian organizations such as the International Committee of the Red Cross to enter and provide assistance.

In addition, although the occupying power can adopt different methods to ensure that people receive enough food and water and other necessities, in the process, the occupying power must also ensure the safety of people's lives. This is crucial. On these issues, we are maintaining dialogue with the Israeli government to remind the authorities of their obligations and explore ways to effectively improve the situation of the people of Gaza.

China News Weekly: In the past six months, the ICRC facilities and personnel in Gaza have been repeatedly attacked and three employees have been killed.Can the ICRC still ensure the lives of its staff?

by Calbonne:It is our primary concern to ensure that employees get the necessary security when they work, so that employees can help local people without endangering their lives and safety.

Currently, the International Committee of the Red Cross has more than 350 employees working across Gaza, and we also operate a battlefield hospital in Rafah. Most of our employees in Gaza have also been forced to be displaced several times. Some colleagues live in tents and many of their colleagues unfortunately have lost loved ones.

Unfortunately, overall, the security environment facing humanitarian workers in Gaza is deteriorating. As you said, we have encountered some serious security incidents recently and witnessed tragic losses. But in most cases, we can still work in Gaza. We also continue to have direct dialogue with the Israel Defense Forces and Hamas to remind them of the need to ensure humanitarian action.

Humanitarian work is always full of difficulties. In our conflict environments, parties tend to politize everything. It is very difficult to try to maintain a space of action free from political interference and purely based on humanitarian principles. We hope to provide real help to the people, but always face many limitations. However, protecting civilians is our mission and duty. Therefore, despite the painful and frustrating realities we face every day, we will remain locally.

On September 15, Palestinians viewed the ruins of buildings in Gaza City after Israeli attacks.

Is there genocide?

"China News Weekly": Recently, the United Nations "Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory (Including East Jerusalem) and Israel" concluded in its latest report that Israel committed genocide in the Gaza Strip. Some countries and international organizations have also begun to use the term "genocide" to describe the situation in Gaza. Will the International Committee of the Red Cross consider using the word "genocide" to define the situation in Gaza?

by Calbonne:We have repeatedly emphasized that the humanitarian situation in Gaza has become a "hell on earth". This situation must stop immediately, civilians and civilian facilities must be protected, and they must be able to obtain adequate food and necessary assistance. This is the consistent position of the International Committee of the Red Cross based on the Geneva Conventions and the principles of humanity. As for judging whether the situation in Gaza constitutes "genocide," this is the responsibility of institutions such as the United Nations International Court of Justice, not the International Committee of the Red Cross.

China News Weekly: Historically, the International Committee of the Red Cross has been accused of failing to fully address the massacre of Jews during World War II. During the 1994 Rwandan Holocaust, the International Committee of the Red Cross¡¯s agencies in Rwanda used the term ¡°genocide¡± to describe the situation at that time.

by Calbonne:This is a very important question. We have asked historians to independently review the actions of the International Committee of the Red Cross during World War II. During the Holocaust, the International Committee of the Red Cross did not make a clear statement on the Holocaust, whether in public or private. This is a painful lesson we should learn from that period of history.

During the 1994 Rwandan Holocaust, we gradually confirmed in the development of the situation that the International Committee of the Red Cross was almost powerless in the face of such a mass slaughter. Our team in Rwandan capital, Kigali, carried out only a handful of emergency relief work and could not fully serve as a humanitarian agency. At the same time, although we called for international intervention, the international community was not fully aware of the seriousness of the situation at the time. Based on these circumstances, we adopted the term "genocide".

The humanitarian crisis in Gaza today is different.The international community is highly concerned about Gaza, and we are conducting extensive humanitarian work locally, providing food and cash assistance to the most vulnerable groups, providing people with safe drinking water,ining local health and health systems, etc. We firmly believe that continuing to carry out these work and continuing dialogue with the parties in the conflict is critical to promoting the improvement of the humanitarian situation in Gaza.

I want to emphasize that we have learned lessons from history, but we have always considered the victims of war and civilians in need of protection first. This is the primary guiding principle for us and our unique mission. Other national organizations may shoulder different missions, and some organizations have public advocacy and voice as their main tasks. However, the International Committee of the Red Cross has a unique mission entrusted to it by the Geneva Conventions and can engage in direct dialogue with parties to conflicts and conduct local operations. When we speak out publicly, we must always consider the uniqueness of our work.

To respond to conflicts, we need to increase humanitarian budgets

China Newsweek: The International Committee of the Red Cross is almost the only international organization that is able to carry out humanitarian work simultaneously on both sides of the world¡¯s vast majority of conflict areas.But are you also facing many new challenges as global conflicts escalate?

by Calbonne:Yes, we are currently responding to about 130 armed conflict situations around the world, a number that has tripled compared with a decade ago. If countries could regard respecting international humanitarian law and cooperating with the International Committee of the Red Cross as political priorities, we wouldn't need that much budget, but the reality is that due to budget pressures, we have to cut the budget again by 18% next year.

We are trying our best to use effective management and new technologies to improve efficiency and do more with fewer resources, but this approach has its limits. So we had to make difficult decisions. This year, we have adopted a more strategic approach and reduced the number of non-front-line positions at headquarters to minimize humanitarian operations. But even so, we have cut some very important front-line budgets.

Part of the reason for the shortage of humanitarian funds is that some countries have reallocated their budget focus to the national defense field. We have always stressed to these countries that if you increase defense investment in response to potential large-scale armed conflicts, then you must also increase your investment in international humanitarian affairs, so as to better cope with the humanitarian consequences of conflicts.

In recent events, I have heard leaders of many countries emphasize that we want to resolve disputes peacefully. This is very expensive. But we must acknowledge that emergencies can occur at any time, like the recent border conflict between Cambodia and Thailand, and that in a very short time, emergencies will lead to the emergence of prisoners of war and detained civilians. Nations must be ready to address and address these humanitarian issues at all times.

At the same time, preparing for conflict not only means increasing the combat effectiveness of the military, but also means ensuring that commanders and the military can effectively implement the rules of humanitarian law in wartime, effectively protect civilians, and implement the humane treatment of prisoners of war. This means that States should make respect for international humanitarian law a political priority.

In particular, I would like to point out that Brazil, China, France, Jordan, Kazakhstan, South Africa and the International Committee of the Red Cross issued a joint statement on 21 September calling on global leaders and governments to respect international humanitarian law as a political priority. We highly appreciate China¡¯s and five other countries¡¯ leadership in this ¡°Global Humanitarian Law Initiative.¡± The initiative was launched a year ago, with more than 90 countries officially joining by mid-September 2025. The 27 countries jointly chaired seven thematic working groups to formulate practical recommendations on promoting compliance with international humanitarian law and tackling the challenges posed by the evolving forms of war. We will jointly host a high-level global humanitarian conference in warfare in 2026.