‘Mass Grave’ of aid workers dug up in Gaza
In morbid scenes, a mass grave of uniformed aid workers has been uncovered by the Palestinian Red Crescent in the wake of the IDF’s renewed Gaza offensive.
A group of aid workers have been found buried alongside a United Nations employee and a number of severely damaged vehicles in a scene that officials have described as a “mass grave”.
The pile of bodies was uncovered on March 27 by workers and paramedics from the United Nations and the Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS).
In footage released by the United Nations Humanitarian Affairs office (Ocha), a group of workers in orange vests can be seen pulling the bodies out of a large sand bank before placing them under tarps or in body bags.
The bright red uniforms of the dead paramedics clearly stick out of the dirt, which Ocha claims was poured over the bodies by an “Israeli forces bulldozer”.
Ocha said the PRCS workers had been sent to rescue colleagues who had received fire from Israeli troops on March 23.
According to the PRCS, two ambulances were sent to respond to reports of civilian casualties after an Israeli air strike in Rafah City in the early hours of the morning.
One ambulance successfully returned from the scene, but after contact was lost with the second responding vehicle, a convoy of five vehicles packed full of paramedics, aid workers and a United Nations employee were dispatched to respond.
As the attack took place, one of the Red Crescent paramedics was on the phone to a colleague back at base.
Over the phone, the paramedic at the scene informed his colleagues that he and another person had been injured.
According to Dr Bashar Murad, Red Crescent director of Health Programs, Israeli troops could be heard speaking to one another a few minutes later.
“During the call, we heard the sound of Israeli soldiers arriving at the location, speaking in Hebrew. The conversation was about gathering the team, with statements like; ‘Gather them at the wall and bring some restraints to tie them,’” said Dr Murad.
“This indicated that a large number of the medical staff were still alive,” he said.
The Palestinian Red Crescent is a branch of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent movement, which is the single largest independent humanitarian entity in the world.
In a statement, the PRCS said it was “devastated” by the killing of its eight medics.
“This massacre of our team is a tragedy, not only for us … but also for humanitarian work and humanity,” a spokesman said.
“The occupation’s targeting of Red Crescent medics, despite the protected status of their mission and the Red Crescent emblem, can only be considered a war crime punishable under international humanitarian law, which the occupation continues to violate before the eyes of the entire world,” they said.
“The PRCS demands that the perpetrators of this war crime be held accountable.”
In a statement posted on X, the IDF’s international media spokesman Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani said his troops “did not randomly attack an ambulance on March 23.”
“Last Sunday, several uncoordinated vehicles were identified advancing suspiciously toward IDF troops without headlights or emergency signals. IDF troops then opened fire at the suspected vehicles. Earlier that day, cars that did not belong to terrorists were co-ordinated and passed safely on the same route,” he said.
Shoshani alleges that among the fifteen dead Palestinians, one was a Hamas militant and has also claimed that the other fourteen members of the convoy were “terrorists from Hamas and the Islamic Jihad.”
Dr Tamer Morris, senior lecturer of international humanitarian law at the University of Sydney, said one of the pillars of international humanitarian law (IHL) is the protection of civilians.
“The IDF has a legal obligation to distinguish, at all times, between civilians and combatants. Therefore, attacks directed against civilians is prohibited under the law,” said Dr Morris.
“Medical personnel must be respected and protected in all circumstances. Although the IDF might have had their ‘suspicions’ on the status of these individuals, the presumption of civilian innocence is a crucial principle of IHL,” he said.
“To presume, or have suspicions, that individuals are legal targets is insufficient.”
The United Nations has catalogued the killing of at least 1,060 healthcare workers in the 18 months since Israel launched its war on Gaza.
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