PRCS Calls for Independent International Investigation to Hold Those Responsible for the Crime of Targeting Ambulance Teams in Rafah Accountable

Palestine Red Crescent Society Calls for Independent International Investigation to Hold Those Responsible for the Crime of Targeting Ambulance Teams in Rafah Accountable
(Ramallah - 7/4/2025):

The Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) affirms that the targeting of its ambulance convoy by Israeli forces in the Al-Hashasheen area of Rafah on March 23 constitutes a full-fledged war crime, and it reflects a dangerous pattern of repeated violation of international humanitarian law.   This massacre claimed the lives of eight members of the PRCS emergency medical teams: Mustafa Khafaja, Ezz Al-DeenShath, Saleh Muammar, Rifaat Radwan, Mohammad Bahloul, Ashraf Abu Labda, Mohammad Al-Heela, and Raed Al-Sharif. The fate of medic Asaad Al-Nassasrah remains unknown to this day. We therefore call on the occupying authorities to immediately disclose his whereabouts.   Video footage, documented by our late colleague and medic Rifaat Radwan, shows the final moments of the team as they drove clearly marked ambulances with flashing emergency lights toward the site where the first ambulance had been targeted. Despite the clear identification of the vehicles and teams, the convoy came under heavy gunfire for approximately five minutes, as shown in the published footage. Furthermore, communication between the team and the Central Dispatch Center confirms that the gunfire continued for no less than two hours, with continuous shooting heard until contact was completely lost with one of the medics.   PRCS affirms that this was neither a random incident nor an individual error, but rather a series of deliberate attacks. The first was the shooting of an ambulance en route to evacuate casualties after a home was bombed in the Al-Hashasheen area.

This was followed by a direct attack on the PRCS and Civil Defense ambulance convoy—despite the teams following all safety protocols—and then by the targeting of a fourth ambulance that was heading to support the others.   It is important to note that the area was not classified as a “red zone” at the time of the response, which means that no prior coordination was required to access the site. Israeli military vehicles were not visible in the area, as confirmed by extended video footage showing the team traveling along the same street repeatedly for nearly 15 minutes before being attacked. Moreover, tracking the sequence of events revealed that approximately one hour after the convoy was targeted, a civilian vehicle and a UNRWA vehicle passed through the same area—further confirming it was not an active combat zone at the time.

 For almost 5 days, Israeli forces prevented rescue teams from accessing the site under the pretext that it was a red zone. Eventually, limited access was granted, during which the team recovered the body of a Civil Defense member before Israeli forces forced the rescue team to withdraw. On March 30, the bodies of 14 individuals—including PRCS medics, Civil Defense staff, and one UNRWA staff member—were discovered piled together in a black mesh bag, buried in a mass grave in a brutal and degrading manner that violates human dignity.   According to testimonies from the team that recovered the bodies, all ambulance and rescue vehicles had been completely destroyed and buried under dirt—indicating a deliberate effort to disable the vehicles and remove them permanently from service, as well as an intentional targeting of the protective emblem.   The preliminary forensic report confirmed that the medics were killed by multiple gunshot wounds to the upper parts of their bodies—further evidence of deliberate killing.   Targeting ambulance crews bearing the Red Crescent emblem—protected under the Geneva Conventions—constitutes a war crime. PRCS calls for an independent international investigation and for all perpetrators to be held accountable. PRCS urges the High Contracting Parties to the Geneva Conventions to uphold their obligations and take concrete measures to hold Israel accountable for these crimes.

The Palestine Red Crescent Society stresses that international silence in the face of attacks on humanitarian teams not only equates to a death sentence for Palestinians in Gaza but also poses a direct threat to humanitarian work everywhere.  

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