ICRC's response to recent situation in Syria

The ICRC is working with Movement partners to ensure that victims of armed conflicts receive the humanitarian protection and assistance they are entitled to and help vulnerable communities meet their essential needs. Some key activities, such as the operations of the field hospital in al-Hol, are being maintained, while others that were disrupted by the recent developments will be resumed as soon as possible. Currently, here is what we do (among many other programs):
1. In the past 13 years, the ICRC has registered around 35,000 cases of people who have gone missing in Syria; more than 8,000 new cases were registered in December 2024 jointly by the ICRC and Movement partners. This number reflects the requests from families in Syria and abroad who have approached the ICRC; in reality, the figures are far greater. The ICRC has established hotlines to support released detainees and families in searching for relatives who have been missing, after major prisons in the outskirts of Damascus and other areas were opened and detainees freed. Since then, the ICRC has collected hundreds of tracing requests and allegations of arrest. The information gathered allows the ICRC to open a case and work with its Movement partners across the world to find answers based on the information provided. Families looking for a missing loved one can contact their local National Red Cross or Red Crescent office.
2. The ICRC, together with the Syrian Red Crescent, is providing a rapid response and fixes to damaged public infrastructure through spare parts and expert guidance. It has helped service providers minimize disruptions and maintain the most critical water facilities (e.g. dams, power stations, water-treatment facilities), ensuring that people have safe water and essential services amid the recent developments. We provided and installed an electrical cable to restore the power supply to a water tank, which resulted in the return of water to a neighborhood in Damascus that serves more than 35,000 people.
3. The field hospital run by the ICRC and the Syrian Red Crescent continues to provide life-saving care to the residents of the al-Hol and al-Roj camps in north-east Syria, where there are more than 43,000 people, including Iraqis, Syrians and third-country nationals from at least 80 countries, 90 percent of whom are women and children. The ICRC’s physical rehabilitation center in Aleppo, and the ICRC-supported facilities providing physical rehabilitation services in Damascus and Homs, have resumed treating people with physical disabilities.

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