The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies on Sunday said it is outraged at the deaths of eight on-duty medics from Palestine Red Crescent Society, killed in Gaza.
An emergency medical team of nine disappeared along with their ambulances when they came under heavy fire in Al-Hashashin on 23 March.
After seven days of silence and having access denied to the area of Rafah where they were last seen, the bodies of ambulance officers Mostafa Khufaga, Saleh Muamer and Ezzedine Shaath and first responder volunteers Mohammad Bahloul, Mohammed Al-Heila, Ashraf Abu Labda, Raed Al Sharif and Rifatt Radwan were retrieved on March 30. Ambulance officer Assad Al-Nassasra is still missing.
IFRC Secretary General Jagan Chapagain said, “I am heartbroken. These dedicated ambulance workers were responding to wounded people. They were humanitarians. They wore emblems that should have protected them; their ambulances were clearly marked. They should have returned to their families; they did not.”
“Even in the most complex conflict zones, there are rules. These rules of International Humanitarian Law could not be clearer – civilians must be protected; humanitarians must be protected. Health services must be protected,” Chapagain said.
“Our network is in mourning, but this is not enough. Instead of another call on all parties to protect and respect humanitarians and civilians, I pose a question: ‘When will this stop? All parties must stop the killing, and all humanitarians must be protected’,” Chapagain said.
The organisation said the ‘devastating incident’ represents the single most deadly attack on Red Cross Red Crescent workers anywhere in the world since 2017.
Chapagain added: “The number of Palestine Red Crescent volunteers and staff killed since the start of this conflict is now 30. We stand with Palestine Red Crescent and the loved ones of those killed on this darkest of days.”
The Israel Defense Forces has not commented on the statement so far.
Meanwhile, senior Hamas official Basem Naim condemned the attack.
“The targeted killing of rescue workers – who are protected under international humanitarian law – constitutes a flagrant violation of the Geneva Conventions and a war crime,” he was quoted as saying by BBC.
Israel resumed the military offensive on Gaza on March 18 after the first phase of the ceasefire ended.
The ceasefire had begun late in January.
Negotiations on a second phase of the ceasefire deal have been stalled.
Atrocities
Lifesaving supplies in Gaza continue to run dangerously low, nearly four weeks into the total aid blockade and deadly bombardment of the enclave by Israel, UN humanitarians said on Friday.
According to local health authorities in Gaza, 830 people were killed between 18-23 March, including 174 women and 322 children. A further 1,787 were injured.
“The acts of war that we see bear the hallmarks of atrocity crimes,” said Jens Laerke, spokesperson for the UN aid coordination office, OCHA. “Hundreds of children and other civilians have been killed in health and Israeli airstrikes. Intensely populated areas and hospitals are once again battlegrounds; patients killed in their beds, ambulances shot at, and first responders killed.”
“It has been 10 days of witnessing – because the UN remains on the ground in Gaza – a callous disregard for human life and dignity,” Laerke maintained.
Israel started the invasion of Gaza after Hamas attacked southern Israel on October 7, 2023, leaving 1200 people dead.
The group abducted 251 hostages from Israel.
