The Red Cross is a symbol of humanitarian and medical aid, based on the international Red cross organizations. It's established internationally in the Geneva conventions to show medical personnel that are not military targets. This is also used as an identifiable symbol for first aid. read more
During the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-1878, however, the Ottoman Empire used not the standardized red cross banner to signify first aid providers on the battlefield, but the red crescent. They argued that although they respected the general idea behind it, the symbol of a cross would prove offensive to Muslim soldiers. read more
The Red Cross is defined as a protection symbol in Article 7 of the 1864 Geneva Convention, Chapter VII ("The distinctive emblem") and Article 38 of the 1949 Geneva Convention ("For the Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded and Sick in Armed Forces in the Field"). read more