The discovery of a mass grave containing 15 aid workers, which includes a UN employee and nine medics from the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS), has sparked widespread condemnation. These individuals were killed by Israeli forces in Rafah on March 23, and their remains were unearthed after a week of restricted access to the area.
The group, including medics and civil defence workers, vanished while aiding the injured in Rafah. Al Jazeera reports that Israeli forces attacked their convoy, halting rescue efforts. After days of appeals from the UN, Red Cross, and others, international teams finally reached the site. They uncovered bodies, some with tied limbs and gunshot wounds, buried near wrecked ambulances.
Details of the Attack
PRCS dispatched an ambulance to al-Hashaashin, Rafah, on March 23 to help victims of Israeli strikes. Soldiers fired on it, prompting PRCS to send three more ambulances. All lost contact that day, said IFRC spokesperson Tommaso Della Longa. Video evidence later showed searchers pulling out bodies in orange vests, piled in sand alongside a UN vehicle and buried ambulances.
Israeli troops killed 15 Palestinian medics and buried them in a mass grave, UN says https://t.co/WjkvUI2cNA
— The Associated Press (@AP) April 1, 2025The deceased include ambulance officers Ezzedine Shaath, Mostafa Khafaga, and Saleh Muamer, plus volunteers Ashraf Abu Labda, Mohammad Bahloul, Mohammed al-Heila, Raed al-Sharif, and Rifatt Radwan. One medic, Assad al-Nassasra, remains missing. A UN worker was also among the dead. OCHA’s Jonathan Whittall noted, “They were here to save lives.”
Read: Over 130 Palestinians Killed in 48 Hours as Israel Resumes Gaza Offensive
Israel’s Response and Global Reaction
Israel’s military claims the attack wasn’t deliberate. Spokesperson Nadav Shoshani said troops fired on unmarked vehicles lacking coordination. Yet, this doesn’t explain bound hands or bulldozed ambulances, per PRCS reports. UN’s Volker Turk condemned the killings, calling the burial “deeply disturbing.” IFRC’s Jagan Chapagain added, “Humanitarians must be protected.”
1/6 First responders should never be a target. Yet today @UNOCHA supported @PalestineRCS and Civil Defense to retrieve colleagues from a mass grave in #Rafah #Gaza that was marked with the emergency light from one of their crushed ambulances. pic.twitter.com/xFYFXWp2c6
— Jonathan Whittall (@_jwhittall) March 30, 2025UNRWA head Philippe Lazzarini decried the “shallow graves” as a dignity violation. The ICRC labelled the incident “appalling.” OCHA’s Olga Cherevko stressed the need for a full probe, noting the aid workers’ marked vehicles. Global calls for accountability are mounting.
