Red Cross outraged over killing of medics by Israeli forces

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) has said it is “outraged” that eight Palestinian medics were killed along with six Civil Defence first responders and a UN staff member by Israeli forces in southern Gaza earlier this month.

Five ambulances and a fire truck dispatched to help injured people, as well as a UN vehicle, were struck in the al-Hashashin area on 23 March as Israeli forces advanced on the city of Rafah, according to a UN official. Fifteen bodies were recovered on Sunday from what he called the “devastating scene”.

The Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) said a ninth medic remained missing and accused Israeli forces of targeting staff carrying out humanitarian duties.

The Israeli military said its troops opened fire on several vehicles which were “advancing suspiciously” without headlights or emergency signals. It said a Hamas operative and “eight other terrorists” were among those killed.

The IFRC said in a statement on Sunday that the eight bodies of PRCS medics were retrieved “after seven days of silence and having access denied to the area of Rafah where they were last seen”.

The organisation identified those killed as 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.

It added that ambulance officer Assad al-Nassasra was “still missing”.

“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.”

The head of the UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Gaza, Jonathan Whittall, said in a post on X that its staff had supported the PRCS and Civil Defence in recovering the bodies from “a mass grave… that was marked with the emergency light from one of their crushed ambulances”.

He added that OCHA staff were only able to reach the site after six days, when they found the partially buried vehicles and managed to recover the body of a Civil Defence worker beneath the fire truck, he added.

“Today, on the first day of Eid, we returned and recovered the buried bodies of 8 PRCS, 6 Civil Defence and 1 UN staff. They were killed in their uniforms. Driving their clearly marked vehicles. Wearing their gloves. On their way to save lives. This should never have happened.”

The PRCS said it was devastated by the “massacre of our team”.

“[Israel’s] targeting of Red Crescent medics, despite the protected status of their mission and the Red Crescent emblem can only be considered a war crime punishable under international humanitarian law,” a statement added.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement that during an operation in southern Gaza on 23 March “several vehicles were identified advancing suspiciously toward IDF troops without headlights, or emergency signals, their movement was not co-ordinated in advance. Thus, IDF troops opened fire at the suspected vehicles.”

“Following an initial assessment, it was determined that the forces had eliminated a Hamas military operative, Mohammad Amin Ibrahim Shubaki, along with eight other terrorists from Hamas and the PIJ [Palestinian Islamic Jihad],” it added.

“Following the strike, the IDF co-ordinated with international organisations to facilitate the evacuation of the bodies.”

A previous IDF statement about the incident said an initial inquiry had determined that “some of the suspicious vehicles that were moving towards the troops were ambulances and fire trucks”. It also condemned what it called the “repeated of use of civilian infrastructure by terrorist organisations”.

The IDF has not commented on the whereabouts of the missing PRCS medic.

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 said.

Israel resumed its military offensive in Gaza on 18 March after the first phase of a ceasefire that began in January came to an end, and negotiations on a second phase of the deal stalled.

More than 900 people have since been killed by Israeli strikes in Gaza, the Hamas-run health ministry has said.

The war was triggered when Hamas attacked southern Israel on 7 October 2023, killing about 1,200 people and taking 251 back to Gaza as captives.

Israel responded with a massive military offensive, which has killed more than 50,000 Palestinians, Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry says.