Red Cross mourns loss of another Red Crescent worker in Gaza

LONDON

A staff member of the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) on Thursday succumbed to wounds he suffered during the March 24 evacuation of Al Amal Hospital in Khan Younis in southern Gaza, said the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC).

"It is with heavy hearts that we confirm the loss of another member of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) network," the IFRC said in a statement.

He was identified as Mohammed Abdul Latif Abu Saeed.

"Since October, the Red Cross and Red Crescent network has lost 21 members. Seventeen staff members and volunteers of the PRCS have been killed and 4 from Magen David Adom in Israel (MDA)," it noted.

The IFRC reiterated that humanitarian and health care workers must be protected.

"Another humanitarian worker tragically taken. We echo their call to protect humanitarian and health workers. Ceasefire!," World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus wrote on X, quoting the IFRC statement.

The Israeli army has pounded the Gaza Strip since an Oct. 7 cross-border attack by the Palestinian group Hamas which killed nearly 1,200 people.

The war has killed more than 33,500 Palestinians and injured over 76,000 others, causing mass destruction, displacement.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which has ordered it to stop genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.