hells. As always, relief workers from this Red Cross Soci- ety accomplished their mission with admirable devotion. One of them was mortally wounded by an exploding shell while aiding victims.
As in Beirut in May, the ICRC negociated with the parties concerned to organize a convoy in order to evacuate the wounded from the city. That was not possible until a cease-fire was agreed upon, which led to a let-up in the fighting on 4 October. On 5 October a convoy of 10 Lebanese Red Cross ambulances, two lorries loaded with medical equipment and supplies and four ICRC vehicles carrying a full surgical team entered the city; 38 wounded and sick people were immediately evacuated.
The Islami hospital was declared neutral and placed under the protection of the ICRC. The surgical team, seconded by the Red Cross Societies of Finland and Den- mark and assisted by a doctor and two nurses from the ICRC, began its activities there. Within a few days 20
Visits to detainees, 1985
Lebanese
Continuation of visits to certain prisoners held by the Amal movement and the Lebanese forces.
Two visits to three Israeli prisonners of war (released on 20 May) in the hands of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Com- mand (PFLP-GC) in Syrian territory.
In the hands of Israel:
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at interrogation centres in Tyre, Mar Elias, Nabatiyeh: 32 visits to some 30 detainees undergoing interrogation;
Ansar camp: 13 visits to 1,900 Lebanese and Palestinian detainees. The camp was disman- tled and some of these detainees were trans- ferred to Israel on 2 April;
on Israeli territory, Atlit camps I and II: 8 visits to 1,292 Palestinian and Lebanese detainees transferred from Ansar camp.
operations were performed and some 50 other patients received treatment. When the emergency period had passed, on 9 October, Lebanese doctors took over from the ICRC.
At Qalmoun, five kilometres south of Tripoli, the ICRC set up a field hospital (made available to it in 1982 by the Red Cross of the Federal Republic of Germany), trans- ferred from Zahle in the Bekaa Valley. Between 5 and 9 October 49 patients were treated in this hospital.
The medical assistance (various kits, medicines and material) distributed by the ICRC in Tripoli and the sur- rounding areas came to more than Sw.fr. 100,000; in response to an urgent request by the Lebanese Red Cross, 400 units of blood were donated by the Red Cross Socie- ties of Switzerland and the Federal Republic of Germany.
77,500 people benefitted from the relief activities; 14,000 family parcels and 27,000 blankets were distributed to displaced people both in Tripoli and in the surrounding built-up areas.
Transfer of detainees to Israel
On 2 April Israel dismantled Ansar camp in southern Lebanon, where 1,883 Palestinian and Lebanese were being held. 752 detainees were released on that date and handed over to the ICRC, which organized their return to their places of residence.
In contravention of Article 49 and 76 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, 1,131 detainees were trans- ferred to Atlit camp in Israel. In a thirteen-stage operation these detainees were released in succes- sive groups and handed over to the ICRC, which organized their return to Lebanon. Atlit camp closed on 10 September.
Protecting victims: a daily task
Again in 1985, the conflict which has been going on in Lebanon for ten years aggravated the suffering of the civilian population in southern Lebanon, in Beirut and Tripoli, and in the Palestinian camps.
On many occasions delegates were obliged to intervene to protect and assist the victims. Thanks to the Central Trac- ing Agency network, thousands of people separated from their families were able to re-establish links with them.
But the work of the ICRC was also frequently hindered by the belligerents, and the Red Cross emblem was not always respected.
Southern Lebanon:
protecting the civilian population
Securing the application of the Fourth Geneva Conven- tion during the Israeli occupation of southern Lebanon and the protection of the civilian population required the attention of the sub-delegations in Sidon and Tyre throughout 1985: they often had to speak to the forces present to ensure that the essential rights of the inhabi- tants of the region were being respected.
20 May 1985: exchange of prisoners between Israel and the PFLP-GC
On 20 May, 1,150 Palestinian and Lebanese prisoners detained by Israel were released in exchange for three Israeli soldiers held by the PFLP-GC since 1982.
This complex operation was negotiated by Austrian diplomats and organized and supervised by the ICRC. More than 80 ICRC staff were involved in Damascus, Tel Aviv and Geneva.
In exchange for the three Israeli soldiers released at Geneva airport by the PFLP-GC, a total of 605 Palestinian prisoners returned home to the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, and the Arab areas in Israel; 394 prisoners were transported to Tripoli via Geneva; and 151 Palestinian and Lebanese prisoners went to Lebanon via Syria.
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