The Palestinian Red Crescent Society has confirmed the recovery of 14 bodies from the Tel al-Sultan area in Rafah, including eight paramedics from the Society’s own teams, five members of local rescue units, and one staff member from a UN agency. The victims had been reported missing eight days earlier, after reportedly being trapped under siege by Israeli forces in the area.
According to a statement issued by the Red Crescent, medical and humanitarian teams, accompanied by representatives from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), accessed Tel al-Sultan under extremely difficult conditions. The bodies were found partially buried in sand, some in an advanced state of decomposition, due to the prolonged delay in recovery.
The Society confirmed that eight of nine missing paramedics were found dead in the al-Hashashin area, following reports of heavy gunfire by Israeli forces during their mission. The fate of the ninth paramedic, As’ad al-Nsasrah, remains unknown, amid speculation that he may be in Israeli military custody.
The Palestinian Red Crescent named the paramedics killed as Mustafa Khafajah, Ezzedine Shaat, Saleh Ma’amer, Rifaat Radwan, Mohammad Bahloul, Ashraf Abu Labda, Mohammad al-Hila, and Raed al-Sharif.
Medical personnel involved in the recovery reported disturbing findings, including bodies with bound hands and direct gunshot wounds to the chest, strongly suggesting field executions following arrest. Some of the bodies had been deliberately buried in a deep pit, indicating an apparent attempt to conceal the crime and destroy evidence.
This massacre brings the total number of Palestinian Red Crescent personnel killed in Gaza to 27 since the start of Israel’s offensive on 7 October 2023. The organisation also reported that 34 ambulances have been targeted and rendered inoperable during recent months, as part of what it describes as a systematic policy to obstruct humanitarian and medical operations in the Gaza Strip.
At a press conference held on Sunday, the Red Crescent held the Israeli occupation authorities fully responsible, describing the killings as a direct attack on humanitarian work and a flagrant violation of international law.
Under international humanitarian law, targeting medical personnel constitutes a grave breach of the Geneva Conventions, which grant special protection to healthcare workers in armed conflict. Furthermore, the killing of emergency responders while performing their duties is considered a war crime under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, which explicitly prohibits attacks on medical teams and the obstruction of their work.
In light of Israel’s ongoing targeting of medical and humanitarian workers in Gaza, the Palestinian Red Crescent warned of the devastating impact these crimes are having on Gaza’s collapsing health system. Hospitals and medical facilities are now incapable of coping with the rising number of casualties, as the humanitarian catastrophe continues to deepen, fuelled by the blockade and the deliberate destruction of Gaza’s healthcare infrastructure.
