PRCS Emergency Medical Technician hit by shrapnel near Rafah

(Gaza, 7-4-2011): A PRCS EMT was injured in the hand by shrapnel from an Israeli shell while on his way to evacuate wounded Palestinians to the South East of Rafah. This incident took place while Rafah came under Israeli fire. A shell fell near a PRCS ambulance on its way to evacuate Palestinians wounded near the borders, smashing the ambulance’s rear and side windows. Shrapnel from the shell damaged the ambulance and injured one EMT seated inside it.

IHL obliges belligerent parties, mainly the occupying force, to enable Red Cross/Crescent medical missions to reach, evacuate and transport the sick and wounded without endangering the life of these missions or hindering their work.

Hence, PRCS calls on Israeli Occupation Authorities to take all necessary measures to avoid harming medical teams and vehicles which are easy to distinguish given the very clear PRCS emblem they carry. The repetition of such incidents will only confirm our belief that PRCS medical missions are being deliberately targeted.