Palestinian Red Crescent recovers 14 bodies after Israeli strike in southern Gaza

The Palestinian Red Crescent Society on Sunday said that it retrieved bodies of 14 people in Rafah, southern Gaza, following an Israeli airstrike about a week ago, including eight of its medics, five civil defense workers, and a UN agency employee.

In a statement, the society said that rescue teams continue to search for the remains of more people amid significant challenges posed by ongoing Israeli attacks on medical and humanitarian crews.

Earlier, the organization said the fate of nine of its medics remains unknown for the eighth consecutive day after the Israeli army opened fire on them while they performed humanitarian duties in Rafah.

The medics were targeted as they headed to provide first aid to wounded individuals from shelling in the Al-Hashashin area, with some injured before contact was lost roughly a week ago, the statement added.

The society expressed “profound shock” at the persistent assaults on its personnel, despite their Red Crescent emblems, protected under international law.

It labeled the targeting a “premeditated crime” and a “flagrant violation” of international humanitarian law, which mandates that Israeli forces respect and facilitate medical teams' work without threatening their lives.

The organization renewed its call to the international community to fulfill its legal duties and take concrete steps to halt Israel's “grave violations” against medical teams and Palestinian civilians, stressing the need to hold Israel accountable to international humanitarian law principles and provisions.

In a separate statement, the society described the killing of its paramedics as a “tragedy for humanitarian work and a war crime punishable under international law.”

It identified the fallen paramedics as Mustafa Khafaja, Ezzedine Shaat, Saleh Mauamer, Rafat Radwan, Mohamed Bahlul, Ashraf Abu Labda, Mohamed al-Heila, and Raed al-Sharif.

The statement called for the perpetrators of this war crime to be held accountable, urging an immediate investigation to ensure justice for the victims and to determine the fate of the missing paramedic, Asaad al-Nassasra.

Following this development, the number of Red Crescent workers killed by Israeli forces during their humanitarian duties in Gaza rose to 27.

The Ministry of Health in Gaza also called on international organizations and bodies to conduct a “prompt investigation into these crimes and hold the Israeli forces accountable.”

The ministry confirmed that some of the bodies were found tied up, shot in the chest, and buried in deep graves to conceal them.

Hamas, for its part, reported that the missing paramedics were found handcuffed and buried in a single pit, calling it “the largest instance of targeted collective killing of ambulance crews.”

The Israeli army launched a surprise aerial campaign on the Gaza Strip on March 18, killing over 920 people, injuring more than 2,000 others, and shattering the ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement.

More than 50,250 Palestinians have been killed, mostly women and children, and over 114,000 injured in a brutal Israeli military onslaught on Gaza since October 2023.

The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants last November for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.