A group of 15 paramedics and rescue workers from the Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) and Gaza’s Civil Defence, who disappeared while responding to casualties in Rafah, are believed to have been executed by Israeli forces.
PRCS confirmed the rescue workers “vanished” while on duty in the Tal Sultan neighbourhood in southern Gaza. They had arrived in response to an Israeli bombing and were attempting to save lives when they were abducted. In a statement issued on Friday, PRCS detailed its efforts to locate the team, working alongside the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
However, despite these efforts, Israeli forces reportedly obstructed all attempts to access the area where the team was last seen, forcing international teams to withdraw. Israel’s military actions have killed more than 61,700 Palestinians, with thousands remaining under the rubble, presumed dead.
“So far, no trace of our team members has been found. Yesterday, we discovered the four ambulance vehicles completely destroyed and buried in the sand,” PRCS stated in reference to its nine missing members. “The occupation is deliberately obstructing search efforts to uncover the fate of our missing teams.”
On Saturday, Israel’s military admitted to firing on the ambulances, with Hamas condemning it as a “war crime” that killed at least one person.
Satellite images obtained by Al Jazeera’s Sanad fact-checking agency suggest that the Israeli military surrounded the area where the medics were last seen.
Eyewitnesses from Rafah reported executions carried out by Israeli soldiers, indicating that the medics may have been targeted while attempting to help those wounded by ongoing Israeli bombardments.
“Our teams found torn safety equipment worn by the crew at the crime scene. This suggests the Israeli occupation forces directly targeted the crew during their incursion, then deliberately altered the area’s features and concealed the bodies of some civilians using bulldozers and heavy machinery,” the Red Crescent said in a statement.
The PRCS accused Israel of obstructing all efforts to locate the missing workers, including blocking access to key sites in southern Gaza. “The Israeli occupation forces have done everything in their power to prevent search efforts,” the group said in a public release.
The humanitarian group has also condemned Israel for the killing of al-Attar, saying that the deliberate targeting of medical teams constitutes a violation of international law.
Physicians for Human Rights, a US-based NGO, has also raised concerns, calling for accountability over the targeting of medical personnel in Gaza. The group pointed out that the attack on the rescue workers came amidst ongoing heavy Israeli military actions in Rafah, and that Israel had previously admitted to firing on ambulances it deemed “suspicious”.
The PRCS has vowed to continue its search for the remaining members of the rescue team.
