The UN reported that fifteen Palestinian paramedics and rescue workers, including at least one United Nations worker, were killed by Israeli forces “one by one” and later buried in a mass grave eight days ago in southern Gaza.
According to the UN humanitarian affairs office (OCHA), the Palestinian Red Crescent (PRCS) and civil defence employees were on an assignment to rescue associates who had been hit earlier in the day, in Rafah city’s Tel al-Sultan district, their clearly marked vehicles came under heavy Israeli fire. According to a Red Crescent official in Gaza, evidence suggests at least one individual was detained and killed, as one body was discovered with hands bound.
The shootings happened on 23 March, one day into the renewed Israeli offensive in the area close to the Egyptian border. Another Red Crescent worker on the mission is reported missing.
“Seven days ago, civil defence and PRCS ambulances arrived at the scene,”
the head of Ocha in Palestine, Jonathan Whittall, said in a video statement.
“One by one, [the paramedics and civil defense workers] were hit, they were struck. Their bodies were gathered and buried in this mass grave.
“We’re uncovering them in their uniforms, wearing gloves. They came to save lives, but they ended up in a mass grave,” Whittall remarked.
“These ambulances are buried in the sand. A UN vehicle is also here, entombed in the sand. An Israeli forces bulldozer has buried them.”
Philippe Lazzarini, the leader of the UN relief agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, confirmed that one of its staff members was among those deceased in Rafah. “Yesterday, the body of our colleague who was killed in Rafah was recovered, along with the aid workers from the Palestinian Red Crescent. They were all found buried in shallow graves, marking a severe violation of human dignity,” Lazzarini stated.
The Red Crescent reported that an ambulance was promptly dispatched to assist those affected by the airstrike in the early hours of March 23. While the first ambulance made it safely to the hospital, we sadly lost contact with the support ambulance around 3:30 am. Initial reports indicated that it may have encountered gunfire, tragically resulting in the loss of the two brave paramedics on board.
A convoy of five vehicles, including ambulances, civil defence trucks, and two cars from the health ministry, was sent to retrieve the bodies. That convoy then came under fire, and the Red Crescent said most of the dead were from that attack. Eight of the dead were from the Red
Crescent, six from civil defence and one was a UN employee.
Dr Bashar Murad, the Red Crescent’s director of health programmes, said one of the paramedics in the convoy had been on a call to his colleagues at the ambulance station when the attack took place.
The Red Crescent identified the employees who lost their lives on March 23 as Mustafa Khafaja, Ezzedine Shaat, Saleh Muammar, Rifaat Radwan, Mohammed Bahloul, Ashraf Abu Labda, Mohammed Hilieh, and Raed Al-Sharif. According to the IFRC, this incident marks the deadliest attack on Red Cross or Red Crescent staff since 2017.
The United Nations reports that over 1,060 healthcare workers have died in the 18 months since Israel initiated its offensive in Gaza, which started after Hamas fighters attacked communities in southern Israel on October 7, 2023, resulting in 1,200 fatalities. Due to safety concerns for its personnel, the organization is cutting its international workforce in Gaza by one-third.
