Gaza authorities accuse Israel of abducting 15 paramedics in Rafah

ISTANBUL

Gaza’s government media office accused the Israeli army on Tuesday of abducting 15 paramedics and civil defense personnel in the southern city of Rafah.

“The Israeli occupation army continues its crimes against the Palestinian people in blatant violation of international humanitarian law,” the office said in a statement.

It said 15 emergency responders were abducted in Rafah as they were rescuing injured people in western Rafah, holding Israel and the US administration responsible for the safety of the personnel and calling the escalation “a war crime that demands immediate accountability.”

“The Israeli occupation is deliberately targeting medical and relief workers, in direct defiance of international agreements that guarantee their safety,” it said.

The media office appealed to the international community, the UN, the International Committee of the Red Cross, and human rights organizations to take urgent action to secure the captives’ release.

On Sunday, the Palestinian Red Crescent Society said that Israeli forces targeted and besieged several paramedics in Rafah during a rescue operation.

The Israeli army launched a surprise aerial campaign on the Gaza Strip on March 18, killing nearly 800 people, injuring over 1,600 others, and shattering a ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement that took hold in January.

More than 50,100 Palestinians have been killed, mostly women and children, and over 113,700 injured in a brutal Israeli military onslaught on Gaza since October 2023.

The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants last November for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.