The Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) confirmed that the Israeli occupation forces' targeting of an ambulance convoy in the Hashashin area of Rafah on March 23 constitutes a "full-fledged war crime" and reflects a dangerous pattern of repeated violations of international humanitarian law.

During a press conference held Monday to discuss the latest developments surrounding the deaths of the eight paramedics in Rafah, the Red Crescent Society, through its president, Younis al-Khatib, demanded the immediate identification of paramedic Asaad al-Nasasira, whose fate remains unknown.

Footage in the video, documented by fellow paramedic Raafat Radwan, shows the crew's final moments as they headed to the site of the attack in clearly marked ambulances with their emergency lights on. Despite the clear identities of the vehicles and crews, the convoy was subjected to a hail of bullets for nearly five minutes, as shown in the published video. Meanwhile, calls between the team and the central communications center confirmed that the gunfire continued for at least two hours, with continuous gunfire heard until contact with one of the crew members was completely cut off.

The association confirmed in a statement that what happened was not a random targeting or an individual mistake, but rather a series of deliberate attacks, beginning with the shooting of an ambulance on its way to evacuate people injured after a house was bombed in the Hashashin area. This was followed by the direct targeting of a convoy of the association's ambulances and civil defense vehicles, despite their adherence to all safety protocols. A fourth ambulance, on its way to support the team, was then shot at.

According to the statement, it is worth noting that the area was not classified as a red zone at the time of the response, which means that there was no need for prior coordination to enter the place, as the occupation forces did not appear in the area, which is proven by the long video recording, in which the crew walked for about 15 minutes on the same street back and forth before they were targeted. It was also revealed by following the sequence of events that about an hour after the convoy was targeted, a civilian vehicle and a UNRWA vehicle passed by, which confirms that the area was not a military operations zone at that time.

He added: “For nearly five days, the occupation prevented the rescue team from entering the site to search for the missing crew, claiming that the area was red. Then, they allowed entry for a short time during which we were able to retrieve the body of a civil defense member. Then, the occupation forces forced us to withdraw from the site. On March 30, the bodies of 14 paramedics, civil defense employees, and a UNRWA employee were found piled in a black mesh bag in a mass grave, in a brutal and degrading manner.”

According to the testimony of all the crew members who participated in the mission to recover the bodies of the seven ambulance crew members, namely: Mustafa Khafaga, Ezz El-Din Shaat, Saleh Muammar, Refaat Radwan, Mohamed Bahloul, Ashraf Abu Labda, Mohamed Al-Hila, and Raed Al-Sharif, it became clear that all the ambulances and rescue vehicles were completely destroyed and buried under the soil, which means that they were deliberately destroyed and taken out of service permanently, and that the protection badge was deliberately targeted.

The initial forensic report showed that the paramedics died as a result of multiple gunshot wounds to their upper bodies, further evidence of premeditated murder.

She said that targeting ambulances bearing the Red Crescent emblem and protected under the Geneva Conventions constitutes a war crime.

The Assembly called for an independent international investigation and the accountability of all those involved, and urged the states parties to the Geneva Conventions to fulfill their obligations and take practical measures to hold Israel accountable for these crimes.

The Red Crescent Society emphasized that the international silence on the targeting of humanitarian personnel not only amounts to a death sentence for Palestinians in Gaza, but also represents a direct threat to humanitarian work everywhere.