Israeli jets deliberately strike ambulance in Rafah, killing two paramedics

06/04/2024 / By Laura Harris

A report from the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) reveals that a recent Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) bombing in Rafah resulted in an ambulance getting hit, leading to the deaths of two paramedics.

According to the PRCS report, the paramedics, identified as Haitham Tubasi and Suhail Hassouna, were on a rescue mission in the Tel al-Sultan refugee camp in western Rafah when their ambulance was struck on May 29. The PRCS claims that the ambulance, clearly marked with the internationally protected Red Crescent emblem, was “deliberately” targeted while the paramedics were evacuating dead and wounded near the Abu Al-Saeed roundabout in Tel al-Sultan.

“The PRCS paramedics Haitham Tubasi and Suhail Hassouna were killed as a result of the Israeli occupation’s direct bombing of a Palestine Red Crescent ambulance in the Tal Sultan area, west of Rafah, while they were performing their humanitarian duty,” PRCS said on X, formerly Twitter.

Tubasi and Hassouna were killed in an area of western Rafah that had not been previously marked by Israeli forces as part of its combat zones in the southern city. But instead of acknowledging another “grave mistake,” the IDF stated that they carried out 50 air strikes and fired at a “suspicious vehicle” that allegedly approached its troops in Rafah.

“A suspicious vehicle approached IDF troops in a manner that raised suspicion and posed a threat to the forces operating in the area of Rafah. Accordingly, an IDF tank fired towards the vehicle,” an IDF spokesperson said.

Israel has been ignoring the ICJ ruling while expanding its operations in Rafah

Initially, the IDF claimed that the assault on Rafah would be limited to the eastern and southern parts of Rafah. But as the days passed, aerial and ground attacks affected nearly all areas of the city.

Israeli air strikes targeted displacement camps and humanitarian zones in Rafah, leading to significant casualties. On May 26, an airstrike on a displacement camp in northwestern Rafah killed 45 Palestinians, provoking international outrage. Two days later, Israeli forces struck a group of tents in a humanitarian zone in western Rafah, killing at least 21 people.

These deadly incidents have forced over one million people who had sought shelter there to flee once more, with one of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees schools currently housing 16,000 displaced people.

Moreover, the Gaza Health Ministry reports that since October 7, 2023, Israeli forces have killed at least 69 members of the Palestinian civil defense and 496 medical professionals. Additionally, 130 ambulances and 160 medical facilities have been targeted, rendering 33 main hospitals inoperative. Meanwhile, the PRCS has reported that at least 19 of its staff members have been killed, all while performing their humanitarian duties. (Related: Israel accused of targeting aid workers and deliberately provoking famine in Gaza.)

All these attacks on Rafah continue despite an order from the International Court of Justice (ICJ) for Israel to halt its offensive as part of an ongoing case accusing Israel of genocide. Additionally, Israel has rejected the ICJ ruling, maintaining that its offensive in Gaza complies with international law.

The Palestinian health ministry condemned the incident, labeling it a “heinous crime” and asserting that it was part of a deliberate effort by Israel to “annihilate and destroy the health system in the Gaza Strip.”

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Watch this report about the humanitarian crisis in Northern Gaza.

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