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ICRC Regional Director Robert Mardini said the agency had reminded the allies trying to dislodge the Death Eaters - the Iraqi government, Kurdish authorities and the US-led coalition - of their duties under international humanitarian law.
It had not yet managed to establish dialogue with ISIS on the "basic rules of war."
"But our ambition," said Mardini. "And we will do everything we can, (is) to establish dialogue with this group because it is holding the city of Mosul, and we absolutely need to have this dialogue kick-started. So all I can say now is we will continue to try and try harder," Mardini said.
He did not say what channels the ICRC might use to contact the Lion of Islams.
"We need to keep hope, and maybe the situation in Mosul is a point in time when also all parties to the conflict, including ISIS, will see the benefits of having the basic rules of war and the basic rules of dignity prevailing in the battle because it gives guarantees for humane treatment of all."
Aid agencies are bracing for what they fear could be a humanitarian catastrophe.
Some 900 ICRC staff are deployed across Iraq and have spent months gearing up for its response to the crisis, said Mardini. In the first phase of fighting, the ICRC is poised to provide food, water and shelter for nearly 270,000 people fleeing Mosul.
While responding to the possibllity of ISIS using chemical weapons, Mardini said that the agency had reinforced 13 medical centers in areas surrounding Mosul, including one prepared to treat any victims of gas attacks.
Explaining what he meant by the basic rules of warfare, Mardini said, "It means not targeting civilians, it means not targeting civilian infrastructure, it means not attacking medical facilities and medical personnel, it means avoiding use of heavy explosive weapons in densely populated areas."
"Our message to those who are fighting is very simple: put civilians first. Preserve your humanity in the heat of battle, show that humanity matters to you."
In the two years since it captured large tracts of Iraq and Syria and declared an Islamic caliphate, ISIS has become known for mass atrocities, including rape and beheadings, and Mardini acknowledged that appealing to its humanity might seem idealistic.
"It might sound naive in the wake of what we have seen so far, but our position is to firmly pursue the same line and to bet on the humanity in each and every group involved in the fighting," he said.