On 23 March 2025, the IDF fired on five ambulances and a fire truck "one by one," which it said were "advancing suspiciously" without headlights or emergency signals. It claimed that the vehicles were being used as cover by Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad. It alleged that among those killed were a Hamas operative and "eight other terrorists," without providing evidence.[2][5] The humanitarian vehicles were "crushed and dumped, covered in sand," while the aid workers, wearing uniforms, were left missing in a mass grave for eight days.[1] The ambulances were initially dispatched to the Al-Hashashin area in response to casualties caused by Israeli attacks on the area, before being surrounded by Israeli troops and losing contact with dispatchers. The paramedics that went to search for them were killed and wounded.[6][7] According to forensic analyst Ahmad Dhaher who examined five of the bodies, the aid workers were killed at close-range in execution-style killings, with "specific and intentional" bullet wounds in heads and hearts.[8]
A frame from the video published by NYT, showing the marked ambulances and personel
A video recording discovered on a cellphone of one of the medics contradicts Israel's narrative of the incident, showing the ambulances and fire truck clearly marked with their emergency lights on as Israeli troops hit them with a barrage of gunfire, killing all the medics. In the video, a paramedic recided the Shahada, asked his mother for forgiveness, and noted that he chose a path to help others. The paramedic was later found in the mass grave with a bullet in his head. The New York Times analyzed satellite imagery that showed Israeli forces bulldozing the site after the attack.[9][10]
A witness who survived the Israeli attack also challenged the Israeli account, stating that "Everything tells you it's an ambulance vehicle that belongs to the Palestinian Red Crescent. All lights were on until the vehicle came under direct fire." He added that Israel's claim that Hamas used the ambulances was "utterly untrue" and that "All crews are civilian."[11]
Casualties
The IFRC identified its missing workers as ambulance officers Mostafa Khufaga, Saleh Muamer, and Ezzedine Shaath, and first responder volunteers Mohammad Bahloul, Mohammed al-Heila, Ashraf Abu Labda, Raed al-Sharif, and Rifatt Radwan, adding that ambulance officer Assad al-Nassasra was still missing.[1] According to the UN, the killed Palestinian medics were buried by Israeli troops.[7]
Rescue operation
From 23 March to 30 March, a "complex, week-long rescue operation" took place involving bulldozers and heavy machinery to search for the buried bodies left under the sand and debris, while emergency responders used shovels to dig through the dirt. The rescue operation was complicated by the IDF's refusal to cooperate with the Red Crescent, OCHA, and the UN, denying them entry. On 27 March, the body of a civil defense worker was recovered, and fourteen more were recovered on 30 March. One medic belonging to the PRCS remains missing.[1][2]
None of the names reported to have been recovered from the mass grave match the names of "terrorists" the IDF claimed to have eliminated, and one recovered body had his hands bound.[5]
Reactions
Israel: The IDF claimed that its troops had fired on the humanitarian vehicles as they were "advancing suspiciously," and added that "it was determined that the forces had eliminated a Hamas military operative, Mohammad Amin Ibrahim Shubaki, along with eight other terrorists from Hamas and the PIJ."[1]
United States: The U.S. said that it expects "all parties on the ground" in Gaza to comply with international humanitarian law, although it refused to confirm whether it is conducting its own assessment into the incident. U.S. State Department SpokeswomanTammy Bruce claimed that "every single thing that happens in Gaza is happening because of Hamas."[12]
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies: The IFRC condemned the attacks, calling them the "single most deadly" for its workers in almost a decade.[2] It also said in a statement on 30 March that the eight bodies of its workers were retrieved "after seven days of silence and having access denied to the area of Rafah where they were last seen."[1]
Palestinian Red Crescent Society: The PRCS called targeting of its workers a war crime and stated that "This massacre of our team is a tragedy not only for us at the Palestine Red Crescent Society, but also for humanitarian work and humanity." It decried Israel as killing the aid workers "in cold blood".[2]
United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs: During the rescue operations, the head of OCHA in the occupied Palestinian territories, Jonathan Whittall, stated that "Health workers should never be a target. And yet, we’re here today, digging up a mass grave of first responders and paramedics."[2]
Amnesty International: Spokesman for the occupied Palestinian territories, Mohamed Duar, said "Despite their protected status under the Geneva Conventions and International Humanitarian Law, Israeli Forces continue to target healthcare workers... Ambulances and hospitals continue to come under fire and be destroyed."[5]
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
Israel Defense Forces 
