As part of the escalating Israeli genocide against the Gaza Strip, the Palestinian Civil Defence confirmed on Friday, March 28, 2025, that its teams had been directly targeted by Israeli occupation forces IOF while working in the Tel Sultan neighbourhood, west of Rafah, six days ago.
It reported that contact was lost with a rescue team from the Palestinian Red Crescent. Meanwhile five civil defence personnel remained missing.
According to the Civil Defence statement, its teams were besieged by the IOF while attempting to rescue the wounded in the area, and communication with them was suddenly lost.
The Civil Defence pointed out that the occupation forces deliberately targeted the humanitarian team and is considered a war crime under international humanitarian law, which prohibits the targeting of medical and relief personnel while carrying out their humanitarian duties.
Despite ongoing efforts to search for the missing individuals, permission from the occupation to enter the area and resume the search was only granted after several days had passed, it added.
In a previous report, the Red Crescent Society also stated that it had lost contact with its teams after Israeli forces besieged them while they were attempting to provide medical treatment to victims of the occupation’s bombardment in Rafah.
In a further escalation, Palestinian government reports indicated that the IOF had kidnapped 15 paramedics and civil defence personnel while they were performing their duties, raising questions about Israel’s commitment to international laws prohibiting the targeting of humanitarian facilities.
This incident is part of a long series of violations committed by the occupation forces against human rights in Gaza, where the ongoing Israeli genocide, which began on 7 October 2023, has resulted in the deaths and injuries of over 164,000 Palestinians, in addition to thousands of missing persons and widespread destruction of infrastructure.
