THE Red Cross federation voiced outrage on Sunday after eight medical colleagues were killed while on duty in the Gaza Strip, asking: “When will this stop?”
The Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) said it had recovered the bodies of the medics, killed a week ago when Israeli forces fired on ambulances in southern Gaza.
The PRCS said the bodies were found along with those of six members of Gaza’s civil defence agency and one UN agency employee.
One Red Crescent ambulance officer remains missing.
“The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies is outraged at the deaths of eight medics from PRCS, killed on duty in Gaza,” the world’s largest humanitarian network said in a statement.
The IFRC said the bodies were retrieved after “seven days of silence” and of having access denied to the area of Rafah where they were last seen.
“I am heartbroken,” IFRC secretary-general Jagan Chapagain said in a statement.
“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. They should have returned to their families; they did not.”
He stressed that under the rules of International Humanitarian Law, civilians, humanitarians and health services must be protected.
“Instead of another call on all parties to protect and respect humanitarians and civilians, I pose a question: when will this stop?
“All parties must stop the killing.”
The IFRC said it was the single most deadly attack on its colleagues anywhere in the world since 2017.
The number of PRCS volunteers and staff killed since the war between Israel and Hamas began in October 2023 is now 30, the global federation said
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) expressed its profound dismay over the deaths of eight medics from the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS), who were killed while performing their duties in Gaza. The medics, along with six members of Gaza’s civil defence agency and one employee of a United Nations agency, were reportedly killed when ambulances came under fire in Rafah, southern Gaza, on 23 March. Their bodies were recovered after a week during which access to the area was denied. One ambulance officer remains missing.
The IFRC described the incident as the deadliest attack on its personnel since 2017.
Secretary-General Jagan Chapagain remarked that the medics were clearly identifiable as humanitarian workers, wearing protective emblems and operating marked ambulances. He emphasised that international humanitarian law mandates the protection of civilians, humanitarian workers and health services in conflict zones.
Chapagain questioned when such violence would cease and called on all parties to respect these protections.
Hamas has accused the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) of targeting the rescue workers, a claim the IDF has not publicly addressed.
However, reports suggest that Israeli forces admitted firing on ambulances in southern Gaza after deeming them suspicious, with allegations of misuse by militant groups cited as justification.
–BTS Media
