The Palestine Pink Crescent Society (PRCS) has known as for an impartial worldwide inquiry into the “deliberate killing” of 15 medical and humanitarian staff in an assault by Israeli forces in Gaza.
In a press release on Monday, the group stated the March 23 assault in Gaza’s southern metropolis of Rafah “constitutes a full-fledged struggle crime, and it displays a harmful sample of repeated violation of worldwide humanitarian legislation”.
PRCS President Younis al-Khatib stated an impartial fee is required “to determine the info and maintain these accountable accountable”.
Israeli forces opened hearth on the medics, who had been driving in ambulances to help wounded individuals on the web site of an earlier Israeli assault.
A video recently recovered from the mobile phone of one of many medics confirmed their ultimate moments. The medics had been sporting extremely reflective uniforms and had been inside clearly identifiable rescue autos earlier than they had been shot by Israeli forces in Rafah’s Tal as-Sultan neighbourhood.
In line with the PRCS, the convoy got here underneath heavy gunfire for about 5 minutes. It stated communication between the crew and the central dispatch centre “confirms that the gunfire continued for a minimum of two hours” with steady capturing heard till contact was utterly misplaced with one of many medics.
This has additionally been confirmed by one survivor, who stated the ambulances got here underneath direct hearth with no warning, in accordance with al-Khatib. The survivor additionally stated he was utilized by Israeli officers as a “human protect” earlier than having the ability to escape.
“It’s not enough to talk of respecting the worldwide legislation and Geneva Conference,” al-Khatib advised reporters from el-Bireh within the occupied West Financial institution. “It’s now required from the worldwide group and the UN Safety Council to implement the required punishment towards all who’re accountable.”
‘Who’s telling the reality?’
Al-Khatib additionally known as on the worldwide group to safeguard help staff and stop the concentrating on of hospitals, medical centres and ambulances.
He additionally requested that Israel disclose the whereabouts of the PRCS workers who’re nonetheless lacking.
The PRCS misplaced eight of its staff within the assault. Six members of the Palestinian Civil Defence company and an worker of the United Nations company for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, had been additionally killed.
The Israeli navy had claimed its troopers “didn’t randomly assault” any ambulances, insisting they fired on “terrorists” approaching them in “suspicious autos”.
“A number of uncoordinated autos had been recognized advancing suspiciously towards [Israeli army] troops with out headlights or emergency indicators,” it stated.
However al-Khatib refuted this declare, saying the ambulances had emergency lights on.
“We at PRCS have been accustomed to Israel’s false allegations and fabricated tales almost about what goes on within the Gaza Strip,” al-Khatib stated.
“We consider that the entire world, together with media representatives, has now come to understand who’s telling the reality,” he added.
🚨Palestine Pink Crescent Society Requires Impartial Worldwide Investigation to Maintain These Answerable for the Crime of Focusing on Ambulance Groups in Rafah Accountable
The Palestine Pink Crescent Society (PRCS) affirms that the concentrating on of its ambulance convoy by Israeli… pic.twitter.com/yvTUxnOLAm— PRCS (@PalestineRCS) April 7, 2025
In its assertion, the PRCS stated the world was not categorized as a “purple zone” on the time of the emergency response, which suggests no prior coordination was required to entry the positioning.
It stated for a number of days after that, Israeli forces prevented rescue groups from accessing the world underneath the pretext that it was a “purple zone”.
Then solely restricted entry was granted, throughout which PRCS groups recovered the physique of a Civil Defence member earlier than Israeli forces pressured the rescue crew to withdraw, it stated.
On March 30, the our bodies of 14 others were discovered in a “mass grave in a brutal and degrading method that violates human dignity”, the PRCS added.
The assault was decried by the Civil Defence, Gaza’s Authorities Media Workplace, Hamas and UN Excessive Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk, who stated the incident raises concern over potential “struggle crimes” by the Israeli navy.
In the meantime, Tom Fletcher, head of the UN Workplace for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, stated that since Israel broke the ceasefire in Gaza on March 18 and resumed its struggle on the enclave, Israeli air assaults have hit “densely populated areas” with “sufferers killed of their hospital beds, ambulances shot at, first responders killed”.
In line with UNRWA, not less than 408 help staff, together with greater than 280 UNRWA workers members, have been killed by Israeli forces in Gaza because the struggle started on October 7, 2023.
Gaza’s Ministry of Well being stated that since March 18, not less than 921 individuals have been killed within the territory, including to the greater than 50,000 killed because the struggle started – most of them kids and girls.
The violence pushed the heads of six UN companies to name on Monday for a direct renewal of the ceasefire that Israel unilaterally broke and the re-entry of humanitarian help into Gaza.
