Red Cross outraged over killing of eight medics in Gaza

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) has said it is "outraged" at the deaths of eight medics killed on duty in Rafah in southern Gaza.The nine-person ambulance team came under heavy fire in al-Hashashin on 23 March, said the IFRC. Their bodies were retrieved on Sunday after access was denied for a week. One medic is still missing.The Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) said their staff's bodies were discovered along with those of six members of Gaza's Hamas-run civil defence agency and one UN employee.They did not say who opened fire on the convoy – but Hamas blamed the Israel Defence Forces for the attack. The BBC has sought comment from the IDF.In Sunday's statement, the IFRC said the eight bodies of PRCS workers were retrieved "after seven days of silence and having access denied to the area of Rafah where they were last seen"."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 IDF has publicly not commented on the Red Cross and Red Crescent statement.Accused of a war crime The AFP news agency reported that on Saturday the Israeli military admitted it had fired on ambulances in southern Gaza last Sunday after identifying them as "suspicious vehicles".Israeli troops had "opened fire toward Hamas vehicles and eliminated several Hamas terrorists", the military said in a statement to AFP."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".It also said there had been "repeated use" by "terrorist organisations in the Gaza Strip of ambulances for terrorist purposes".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.

Red Cross outraged over killing of eight medics in Gaza

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Namibian Sun 2025-05-01

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Red Cross outraged over killing of eight medics in Gaza

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Namibian Sun 2025-05-01

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