Red Cross Condemns ‘Massacre’ as Medics’ Bodies Recovered from Gaza Rubble
In a grim discovery that has sparked international outrage, the bodies of eight Palestinian Red Crescent medics were recovered Sunday from what UN officials described as a “mass grave” in southern Gaza, seven days after their ambulances were struck by Israeli forces.
The recovery operation, which also retrieved the remains of six Civil Defense workers and a UN staff member, revealed a scene that the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) has condemned as a violation of humanitarian law. A ninth medic remains missing.
“They were killed in their uniforms. Driving their clearly marked vehicles. Wearing their gloves. On their way to save lives,” wrote Jonathan Whittall, head of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in Gaza, who helped recover the bodies. “This should never have happened.”
The incident occurred on March 23 in the al-Hashashin area near Rafah, when a convoy of emergency vehicles responding to calls for medical assistance was struck during an Israeli military advance. According to UN officials, the location was marked only by “the emergency light from one of their crushed ambulances.”
IFRC Secretary General Jagan Chapagain expressed heartbreak over the loss: “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.”
The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) has defended its actions, claiming troops opened fire on “several vehicles advancing suspiciously toward IDF troops without headlights or emergency signals.” The military stated it eliminated a Hamas operative, Mohammad Amin Ibrahim Shubaki, “along with eight other terrorists.”
However, the Palestine Red Crescent Society vehemently rejects this characterization, calling the incident a “massacre” and asserting the targeting of clearly marked medical personnel constitutes “a war crime punishable under international humanitarian law.”
This deadly strike occurred just days after Israel resumed military operations in Gaza following the breakdown of ceasefire negotiations. The Hamas-run health ministry reports that more than 900 Palestinians have been killed since fighting resumed on March 18.
The bodies were recovered on the first day of Eid, adding a particularly somber note to what should have been a celebration marking the end of Ramadan for Gaza’s residents.
As international pressure mounts for an investigation into the incident, humanitarian workers continue to face extraordinary dangers in what has become one of the world’s most perilous environments for emergency responders.
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Red Cross Condemns ‘Massacre’ as Medics’ Bodies Recovered from Gaza Rubble