Rafah paramedic massacre

On 18 March 2025, Israel launched a surprise attack on the Gaza Strip, effectively ending the January 2025 Gaza war ceasefire and resuming the Gaza war. Israel's missile and artillery attack killed more than 400 Palestinians, including 263 women and children, making it one of the deadliest in the Gaza war. == Attacks ==

On 23 March 2025, the IDF fired on five ambulances and a fire truck "one by one." The humanitarian vehicles were "crushed and dumped, covered in sand" in an apparent attempt to cover up the killings, while the aid workers, wearing uniforms, were left missing in a mass grave for eight days. 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. Relatives of the victims described various signs of abuse. One relative noted marks on a victim's wrists from restraint and broken fingers, while another mentioned multiple gunshot wounds to the chest and wrist. Two witnesses also reported that some victims had their hands or feet bound. 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 recited the Shahada, and added, "Forgive me, Mom, forgive me. I swear I only chose this 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. Following the release of the video recording, Israel changed its account of the incident, admitting that its soldiers have "made mistakes." The massacre was carried out by soldiers from the Golani Brigade. At the moment of the killings, they were acting under the command of Brig Gen Yehuda Vach, who has a history of establishing "kill zones" in Gaza where civilians are killed and of telling his subordinates that "there are no innocents in Gaza." Also present at the site were field operatives from Unit 504, a military intelligence unit with a reputation for cruelty and acts of torture. Munther Abed Munther Abed, a 27-year-old volunteer with the Red Crescent since he was 18, was in the first ambulance to arrive at the scene of an airstrike in Rafah's Hashashin district when it came under Israeli gunfire. Abed survived by throwing himself to the floor, while his two colleagues in the front were killed. While the IDF described the area as a war zone, Abed asserted that Hashashin was a civilian area where daily life was ongoing, not a designated combat zone. He also rejected Israel's claim that Hamas had used ambulances, calling it "utterly untrue" and reaffirming that all the crews involved were civilians. Abed was forced to help Israeli soldiers in the vetting and photographing of local residents, who were ordered to leave the area and move to al-Mawasi. He was released in the evening and given back his watch and underwear but not his identity card, paramedic uniform, or shoes. Abed was instructed to walk toward al-Mawasi and was eventually able to flag down a passing Red Crescent vehicle for assistance. Assad Al-Nassasrah Assad Al-Nassasrah, a Red Crescent paramedic, was the driver of one of two ambulances. A passenger in Al-Nassasrah' ambulance recorded the video of the Israeli attack that was later recovered. The convoy sustained heavy Israeli gunfire (which was partially captured on the video) upon arriving at the location. Al-Nassasrah survived the fusillade by taking cover on the ground to the rear of his vehicle, beneath the corpse of his slain colleague who embraced him as he was dying. After the Israeli soldiers ceased fire, they approached the convoy. Al-Nassasrah heard injured colleagues calling out for help before the Israeli troops began shooting the survivors at close range. When the soldiers belatedly noticed Al-Nassasrah to be alive, one of them aimed a rifle at his head, whereupon Al-Nassasrah exclaimed "Don't shoot. I am Israeli." in Hebrew, saying that his mother is a Palestinian citizen of Israel. Al-Nassasrah was then stripped, blindfolded and thrown into a ditch, believing he was about to be killed. Abed, the other survivor, saw the soldiers detaining Al-Nassasrah. == Aftermath ==

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. Four men had been shot in the head, and at least six men were shot in the chest or back. Assad Al-Nassasrah remained missing Al-Nassasrah spent 37 days in Israeli detention where he sustained beatings, sound torture, psychological torture and humiliating treatment, solitary confinement, restraining, and food deprivation. Israeli authorities refused to release information regarding Al-Nassasrah's whereabouts for over two weeks. He was eventually released on 29 April amid international pressure following news of his survival. The IDF told the media that Al-Nassasrah was lawfully detained and interrogated because he was suspected of involvement in terrorist activity. IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir ordered an internal investigation into the incident by the unit responsible for handling suspected war crimes. == Casualties ==

The IFRC identified its killed 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. 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. == Investigations ==

According to the Israeli human rights organization Yesh Din, the system established by the IDF's general staff to investigate potential war crimes is primarily designed to shield the military from accountability while maintaining the appearance of due process. An analysis of Israeli military campaigns over the past decade revealed that at least 664 complaints were submitted for review, yet more than 80% were closed without even launching a criminal investigation. The organization concluded that the military's law enforcement system seldom pursues charges against low-ranking soldiers and almost entirely avoids investigating senior commanders. The post-mortem report, reviewed by a Norwegian pathologist, found these paramedics were killed by gunfires either to their chests, abdomens or backs or to the head. Most of them were shot several times. As a consequence, the IDF's Golani Brigade deputy commander will be removed from his role due to his actions in the field and for delivering a report that lacked accuracy and completeness during the inquiry. the Palestine Red Crescent said that the report was "full of lies." == Reactions ==

State actors • : The IDF claimed that its troops had fired on the 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." • : 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. State Department Spokeswoman Tammy Bruce claimed that "every single thing that happens in Gaza is happening because of Hamas." • : Hamas condemned a statement by the U.S. accusing it of weaponizing ambulances, calling it "pure lies, devoid of any evidence, propagated by the US administration, alongside the government of war criminal Netanyahu, to justify its heinous and documented crime against paramedics and rescue workers." • : Foreign Secretary David Lammy stated that "Gaza has become the world's most dangerous place for humanitarian workers" and called "for those responsible for the killings to be held accountable." • : After the video footage emerged, foreign ministry spokesperson Christian Wagner stated, "There are very significant questions about the actions of the Israeli army now," and said, "An investigation and accountability of the perpetrators are urgently needed", adding that the matter ultimately affects the credibility of the Israeli constitutional state. • : Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide strongly condemned the killing of the paramedics, calling the incident "very serious" and urged for an investigation to hold those responsible accountable. Human rights organizations • 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. ==See also==