The bodies of 15 aid and emergency workers were discovered in a “mass grave” in southern Gaza, following their disappearance a week prior due to attacks by Israeli forces.
The victims included eight members of the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS), five from the Palestinian Civil Defense, and one UN employee. One PRCS medic remains unaccounted for.
The remains were found near wrecked and clearly marked emergency vehicles, including an ambulance, a fire truck, and a UN car. The workers were reportedly killed while attempting to save lives, with their bodies buried in shallow graves
Eight of the 14 bodies recovered Sunday from the site in the southern Rafah area were identified as members of the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS), five as civil defense, and one as a UN agency employee, PRCS said in a statement. One PRCS medic remains missing.
The body of a fifteenth person, a civil defense worker, was recovered last Thursday from the site, after PRCS said they were initially denied access to the area.
As reported by Reuters, Philippe Lazzarini, head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), stated on social media platform X that the aid workers’ bodies were “dumped in mass graves,” calling it a severe violation of human dignity.
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) expressed shock over the deaths in a late Sunday statement, confirming that the bodies were identified today and given a dignified burial. The organization emphasized that these volunteers risked their lives to help others.
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) reported that one member of the nine-person Red Crescent team remains missing.
The group of aid workers disappeared on March 23 after coming under Israeli attack. The Palestine Red Crescent confirmed that the bodies of six members of the Palestinian Civil Defense and a UN staffer were also found.
According to reports, Israeli forces targeted the aid workers. However, the Red Cross did not directly assign blame for the attack.
Earlier, the Israeli military stated that an investigation revealed that on March 23, Israeli forces had fired at several vehicles, including an ambulance and a fire truck, which were traveling without emergency signals.
The statement further claimed that the attack killed several militants affiliated with Hamas and Islamic Jihad. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) also accused militants of using civilian infrastructure in Gaza for terrorist activities, including ambulances and medical facilities. However, they did not directly comment on the Red Crescent workers’ deaths.
IFRC described this as the deadliest attack on Red Cross and Red Crescent personnel since 2017.
The UN reports that since the war began on October 7, 2023, at least 1,060 aid workers have been killed.
On October 7, Hamas launched an attack on southern Israel, killing 1,139 people and taking approximately 250 hostages.
According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, Israel’s assault on the besieged region has resulted in at least 50,021 Palestinian deaths and 113,274 injuries.
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