Gaza: at least 14 humanitarian aid workers killed by Israeli military
Published on 31. March 2025
from CADUS-PR
In response to an emergency call on 03/23/25 15 people, in several teams made up of members of the Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS), the Civil Protection and the UN, drove to an area besieged by the Israeli military in Tal al-Sultan in the south of the Gaza Strip to evacuate injured people. Contact with the teams was lost shortly after the mission began. The teams came under heavy Israeli fire and subsequently disappeared, including the rescue vehicles. The attack took place despite their clear identification as humanitarian relief workers and medics and in defiance of international law, which grants them special protection.
The fate of the rescue teams remained unknown for over eight days. Yesterday, the terrible certainty: the dead and the remains of their vehicles were recovered. The bodies and the destroyed vehicles were buried under sand. One of the team members is still missing.
We are stunned by this repeated breach of international law by the Israeli army and condemn this attack on our colleagues in the strongest possible terms.
We call on the international community to independently and fully investigate the attack and bring those responsible to justice. We demand unhindered and safe access for rescue teams to recover the last missing body.
Our sympathies go out to the bereaved families and colleagues of PRCS, the UN and Civil Protection.
*Cover photo: Symbolic image, smashed PRCS ambulance from Gaza 2024
Addendum from May 20, 2025
According to Israeli sources, six of the PCRS staff killed were members of Hamas (1). Evidence has not yet been provided by the Israeli side. (1, 2) According to the Israeli army, the alleged affiliation of the people killed was not known to the soldiers involved at the time of the attack. Furthermore, the people involved were unarmed. The Israeli armed forces therefore do not derive any justification for the attack from the fact that they were allegedly members of Hamas. (3)
(1) https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cy0xp969n69o
(3) https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/defense-news/article-850769
Das Mobile Hospital ist auf dem Weg!
Eine großer Tag für CADUS: Nach anderthalb Jahren Arbeit haben wir das mobile Krankenhaus Anfang März endlich auf die Reise geschickt! In den nächsten Tagen kommt es im Nordirak an, unsere Technikcrew ist schon vor Ort.
Deportation of our team from Turkey
And suddenly, the mission was over before it even started. Four members of our team had been on the way to Erbil on 15th of March to deliver urgently needed medical support with our “Mobile Hospital” to the people in northern Iraq. They were traveling, via Istanbul, to Erbil but the journey ended prematurely at the …
Das Al-Khansa Kinderkrankenhaus in Mossul Eine Bestandsaufnahme
Eine Option für einen Einsatz unseres Mobile Hospital ist die Unterstützung des Al-Khansa Kinderkrankenhauses in Ost-Mossul. Fee, unsere derzeitige Head of Mission für das Mobile Hospital, hat sich dafür ein Bild vom Krankenhaus für uns gemacht. Im folgenden wollen wir die Situation schildern.
