DayofPal-Israeli occupation forces (IOF) had executed 15 Palestinian paramedics and rescue workers in southern Gaza, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
The victims, including a United Nations employee, were subsequently buried in a mass grave in Rafah’s Tel Al-Sultan district.
The massacre occurred on March 23, a day after Israel launched a renewed offensive in Rafah near the Egyptian border. The Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) and civil defense teams had been conducting a mission to retrieve colleagues who had been shot earlier when they too came under Israeli fire.
OCHA reported that Israeli troops systematically targeted their clearly marked ambulances, striking them one by one.
A senior official from the PRCS disclosed that one victim had been detained before being executed, as his body was later discovered with his hands bound. The fate of another rescue worker remains unknown.
Jonathan Whittall, head of OCHA in Palestine, provided a harrowing account in a video statement:
“One by one, the paramedics and civil defense workers were hit. Their bodies were gathered and buried in this mass grave. We’re digging them out in their uniforms, with their gloves on. They were here to save lives. Instead, they ended up in a mass grave.”
According to Whittall, Israeli forces utilized a bulldozer to inter the bodies, along with their ambulances, a UN vehicle, and a fire truck.
Philippe Lazzarini, Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), confirmed that among the deceased was a UN staff member. He condemned the killings as a “profound violation of human dignity.”
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) labeled the incident the deadliest attack on Red Crescent personnel since 2017. IFRC Secretary-General Jagan Chapagain expressed devastation, stating:
“I am heartbroken. 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.”
Israel, however, defended its actions, asserting that its troops had opened fire on vehicles that were “advancing suspiciously” without headlights or emergency signals in an “active combat zone.”
The military further claimed that the PRCS had failed to coordinate its movements with Israeli forces.
In contrast, the PRCS categorically rejected Israel’s justification, insisting that Tel Al-Sultan had been designated a safe zone, where movement did not require prior coordination.
The organization also accused Israeli forces of obstructing recovery efforts, leading to several days of delays in retrieving the bodies. When the corpses were finally recovered, some exhibited signs of decomposition, while others bore gunshot wounds to their upper bodies.
The execution of these medical workers marks yet another assault on Gaza’s beleaguered healthcare system. Since October 2023, Israeli forces have reportedly killed over 1,060 healthcare professionals and systematically dismantled dozens of hospitals and medical facilities across the besieged enclave.
Whittall delivered a stark condemnation, saying, “It’s an absolute horror what has happened here. This should never happen. Healthcare workers should never be a target.”
As international outrage grows over the incident, humanitarian organizations continue to call for accountability and an immediate end to attacks on medical personnel and facilities in Gaza.
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