Red Crescent calls deaths of aid workers in Gaza strike a ‘war crime'

Express Tribune

07-04-2025

Members of the Palestine Red Crescent Society carry the bodies of their fellow paramedics who were killed by Israeli forces in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip. PHOTO: REUTERS
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The Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) has called for an independent international investigation after 15 medical and humanitarian workers were killed by Israeli forces in Gaza's Rafah region on March 23.
'This constitutes a full-fledged war crime,' the organisation said in a statement, citing what it called a 'dangerous pattern' of violations against international humanitarian law. PRCS President Younis al-Khatib urged the formation of a commission 'to establish the facts and hold those responsible accountable'.
The medics were in ambulances responding to an earlier Israeli strike when they came under sustained fire. Video recovered from one of the victims' phones reportedly shows the team in reflective uniforms and clearly marked rescue vehicles before the shooting began. PRCS said the convoy came under fire for five minutes, with communication records confirming the gunfire continued for two hours until contact with one of the medics was lost.
A survivor reported that the ambulances were targeted without warning and alleged he was used as a 'human shield' by Israeli troops before managing to escape.
'It is no longer sufficient to speak of respecting the international law and Geneva Convention,' al-Khatib said at a press conference in the West Bank. 'It is now required from the international community and the UN Security Council to implement the necessary punishment against all who are responsible.'
The PRCS confirmed that eight of its staff were killed in the attack, along with six members of the Palestinian Civil Defence agency and one employee of the UN refugee agency UNRWA.
The Israeli military denied targeting ambulances indiscriminately, saying it fired on 'terrorists' in 'uncoordinated vehicles' that approached troops without lights or emergency signals. Al-Khatib dismissed the claim, stating the vehicles had their emergency lights on and labelling Israel's version 'false allegations and fabricated stories'.
PRCS stated the area was not designated a 'red zone' at the time, meaning no coordination was needed for rescue access. Days later, limited access was granted, and rescue teams recovered bodies—14 of them from what was described as a 'mass grave in a brutal and degrading manner'.
The attack has drawn condemnation from Gaza's Civil Defence, the Government Media Office, Hamas, and UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk, who said the incident raises serious concern over potential war crimes.
UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher said Israeli strikes since the ceasefire was broken on March 18 have hit densely populated areas, with 'patients killed in their hospital beds, ambulances shot at, first responders killed'.
According to UNRWA, over 408 aid workers, including more than 280 of its own staff, have been killed since the war began on October 7. Gaza's Health Ministry says at least 921 people have died since March 18, bringing the total death toll to over 50,000—most of them women and children.
In response to the rising toll, six UN agency heads jointly urged for an immediate ceasefire and the resumption of humanitarian aid into Gaza.