Gaza: Palestinian Red Crescent Recovers 15 Rescuers Killed in Israeli Strike on Ambulances
The Palestinian Red Crescent reported the recovery of 15 rescuers killed by Israeli military fire in Rafah on March 23, 2025, including eight paramedics and one UN worker. The incident has sparked condemnation amid escalating violence. Israeli forces claimed the ambulances appeared "suspicious." One rescuer remains missing.
hassan benyoub 
Gaza City, March 30, 2025 – The Palestinian Red Crescent announced on Sunday that it had recovered the bodies of 15 rescuers killed by Israeli military fire targeting ambulances in southern Gaza a week ago. The incident, which unfolded on March 23 in Rafah’s Tal al-Sultan neighborhood, has drawn sharp condemnation amid escalating violence in the region.
According to a statement from the medical organization, the casualties included “eight Red Crescent paramedics, six Civil Defense members, and one UN agency employee,” though it did not specify which UN agency was involved. The rescuers had been missing since Israeli forces opened fire on their vehicles, an act the Red Crescent described as a devastating blow. “We are heartbroken by the assassination of eight of our paramedics in Rafah,” the statement read. “They were targeted by the Israeli occupation while performing their humanitarian duties.” One Red Crescent worker remains unaccounted for.
The Israeli military acknowledged on Saturday that it fired on the ambulances, deeming them “suspicious” during an operation in Gaza. Hamas denounced the attack as a “war crime” that claimed the life of at least one rescuer. The strike occurred days after Israel relaunched its offensive in Rafah on March 20, following nearly two months of ceasefire, with airstrikes resuming on March 18.
The Red Crescent had previously reported that Israeli authorities blocked a team from entering Tal al-Sultan to search for the missing rescuers, noting they came under “heavy fire” from Israeli troops. In a statement to AFP, the Israeli army said the incident followed a firefight where soldiers “eliminated several Hamas terrorists.” Minutes later, it claimed, “other vehicles moved suspiciously toward the troops,” prompting soldiers to open fire, killing additional “Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorists.”
An initial probe revealed that some of the targeted vehicles were ambulances and fire trucks, the army admitted, without elaborating further. It accused Gaza’s “terrorist organizations” of repeatedly exploiting ambulances for “terrorist purposes,” though it provided no evidence of gunfire from the vehicles toward its forces.
The killings highlight the perilous conditions for aid workers in Gaza, where Israel’s renewed campaign has drawn international scrutiny. With one rescuer still missing, the Red Crescent’s recovery efforts underscore the mounting toll on humanitarian operations in the conflict zone.
