The Red Cross has condemned the killing of eight Palestinian medics in southern Gaza, calling it a “heartbreaking” violation of international humanitarian law, after their bodies were recovered following a week-long delay.
The medics were part of a nine-person ambulance crew from the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) and were killed on duty in the al-Hashashin area of Rafah on 23 March. Their bodies were retrieved on Sunday after days of restricted access to the area. One crew member remains missing.
The Red Cross did not apportion blame for the attack, while Hamas has accused Israel of killing the PRCS aid workers. Israel has not directly responded to the allegation but confirmed in a statement that its forces fired upon “suspicious vehicles” that later turned out to be ambulances and fire trucks.
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) said all eight were wearing visible emblems and travelling in clearly marked ambulances.
“I am heartbroken. These dedicated ambulance workers were responding to wounded people. They were humanitarians,” IFRC secretary-general Jagan Chapagain said.
“They wore emblems that should have protected them; their ambulances were clearly marked.
“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.”
Among the dead were ambulance officers Mostafa Khufaga, Saleh Muamer and Ezzedine Shaath, as well as first responder volunteers Mohammad Bahloul, Mohammed al-Heila, Ashraf Abu Labda, Raed al-Sharif and Rifatt Radwan. The PRCS said the bodies were found alongside six members of Gaza’s Hamas-run civil defence agency and a United Nations staff member.
In a statement to AFP on Saturday, the Israeli military said its troops had “opened fire toward Hamas vehicles and eliminated several Hamas terrorists” in southern Gaza.
“A few minutes afterward, additional vehicles advanced suspiciously toward the troops… The troops responded by firing toward the suspicious vehicles, eliminating a number of Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorists.”
The military added that “after an initial inquiry, it was determined that some of the suspicious vehicles… were ambulances and fire trucks”.
Israel has previously accused Palestinian armed groups of using medical vehicles for “terrorist purposes”.
Senior Hamas official Basem Naim called the killings a war crime and a breach of the Geneva Conventions.
“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 said.
