Cold Blooded Murder of Red Crescent Workers by Israel
Funeral, March 31, 2025 for Palestinian Red Crescent workers
killed by Israel
The Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) announced on March 30 that it had recovered the bodies of 14 workers in Rafah, southern Gaza, following an Israeli airstrike about a week ago. The victims included eight Red Crescent medics, five Civil Defense workers, and a UN agency employee.
PRCS said in a statement that the workers "were targeted by the Israeli occupation forces while performing their humanitarian duties as they were heading to the Hashashin area of Rafah to provide first aid to a number of people injured by Israeli shelling in the area."
"The occupation's targeting of Red Crescent medics [...] can only be considered a war crime punishable under international humanitarian law, which the occupation continues to violate before the eyes of the entire world," PRCS added.
Exclusive satellite images obtained by Al-Jazeera and Sanad News Agency confirm that the Israeli army destroyed at least six rescue vehicles belonging to the Red Crescent and Civil Defense. These vehicles had been used by the 15 volunteer crews targeted during a humanitarian mission in the Tel al-Sultan neighbourhood, west of Rafah. Sanad's satellite images taken on March 25 show the completely destroyed vehicles in two adjacent locations on Al-Muharrarat Street. The images also reveal the deployment of Israeli military and engineering vehicles conducting intensive bulldozing operations at the site.
The Israeli army later sealed off Al-Muharrarat Street with an earthen barrier. Red Crescent and Civil Defense have both condemned the attacks as deliberate violations of international humanitarian law.
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) also issued a statement on March 31 saying it too is appalled that eight medics from the Palestine Red Crescent Society were killed while carrying out their work but made no mention of Israeli responsibility or holding Israel to account for these crimes. The ICRC did however go on to recognize "the medical staff and first responders in Gaza who have been responding to unimaginable suffering day after day, and many have been killed in the course of their work. The high number of medical personnel killed during this conflict is devastating. The ICRC strongly condemns attacks on health care workers."
(Palestine Chronicle; International Committee of the Red Cross)
This article was published in
Volume 55
Number 5 - April 3, 2025
Article Link:
https://cpcml.ca/Tmlm2025/Articles/TS55055.HTM
Website: www.cpcml.ca Email: editor@cpcml.ca