OCHA footage documents the search for rescue crew massacred by the IDF in Rafah

No.

16451

Date

March, 2025

Found by

UNOCHA @DrMadsGilbert

Location

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Original Social Media Post

"I strongly recommend you watch the footage. This should be the headline on every news outlet in the world. Dr. Mads OCHA: On 30 March, a complex, week-long rescue operation concluded with the recovery of the bodies of 15 of colleagues: eight from the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS), six from the Palestinian Civil Defense (PCD) and one from the United Nations. https://media.un.org/unifeed/en/asset/d335/d3356739 Their co-workers found them buried in the Tal As Sultan area of Rafah, in southern Gaza. The available information indicates that the first team was killed by Israeli forces on 23 March, and that other emergency and aid crews were struck one after another over several hours as they searched for their missing colleagues. They were buried under the sand, alongside their wrecked emergency vehicles – clearly marked ambulances, a fire truck and a UN car. The first body was recovered on 27 March, and the remaining 14 bodies were recovered today. OCHA took part in the recovery efforts on behalf of the UN, coordinating access with the Israeli authorities – who identified the area where forces had buried the bodies. Shotlist WARNING - The following video includes content which some viewers might find disturbing 26 MARCH 2025 1. Wide shot, UN Convoy approaching Tal Al Sultan, finding wrecked UN car on the road 2. Still picture, UN staff checking for human remains 3. Wide shot from within UN veichle, Near Tal-Al-Sultan, two people are seen trying to escape sniper fire. A woman was shot in the back of the head. A young man trying to retrieve her was also shot. The OCHA team managed to recover her body in the UN vehicle. 27 MARCH 2025 4. SOUNDBITE (English) Jonathan Whittall, Head of Office OCHA OPT “We’ve arrived at the site where the ambulances were hit. These ambulances have been buried in the sand. There's a UN vehicle here, buried in the sand. A bulldozer - Israeli forces bulldozer has buried them. We’re now looking for the bodies of those that were in these medical and humanitarian vehicles.” 5. Various shots, PRCS, PCD and OCHA recovering a body 6. Wide shot, bulldozer removing ambulance wreckage 7. Wide shot, PCD worker going through personal effects found in the sand 8. Wide shot, PCD and PCRS members digging in the sand looking for their colleagues’ remains 9. various shots, Civil Defence bulldozer removing wreckage 30 MARCH 2025 10. SOUNDBITE (English) Jonathan Whittall, Head of Office OCHA OPT “Health workers should never be a target. And yet, we're here today, digging up a mass grave of first responders and paramedics. Seven days ago, Civil Defense and PRCS ambulances arrived at the scene. One by one, they were hit, they were struck Their bodies were gathered and buried in this mass grave. We're digging them out in their uniforms, with their gloves on. They were here to save lives. Instead, they ended up in a mass grave. Their vehicles, their ambulances, UN vehicles, civil defense vehicles are crushed and dumped, covered in sand next to us. It's absolute horror what has happened here. This should never happen. healthcare workers should never be a target.” 11. various shots, PRCS, CD and OCHA staffers digging through the sand and recovering bodies 12. various shots, crowds at Nasser hospital, waiting for the team returning with the bodies recovered in Tal Al Sultan." - Source

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Archivist Notes On This Video

source

STORY: OCHA / GAZA TAL AS SULTAN AFTERMATH DATELINE 26, 27, 30 MARCH 2025, TAL-AS-SULTAN, RAFAH

Archivist Notes: Rafah displacement and massacre of rescue team

Forced displacement:

Around 8 am, the IDF issued a forced displacement order covering the Tal al-Sultan area, in southwest Rafah.

Israel prohibited displacement by vehicles, forcing people, ailing, elderly to walk long distances under Israeli gunfire, as was documented by journalists on the ground.

Field executions

Multiple eyewitnesses recounted that the IDF shot at people during the forced displacement, and struck a bus full of people.

A father, displaced from the Saudi neighborhood, also recounted seeing two people being shot dead on the coastal road, and found his own son killed lying on the ground in the "barracks" area.

A mother, also reported her son was killed but could not take his body as the tanks were in front of her.

Rescue vehicles struck and crew missing

At dawn, hours before the forced displacement announcement, the IDF had struck a PRCS ambulance north of Rafah. Palestinian sources reported hours later, around 8 am, that IDF troops had surrounded five ambulances and a fire truck, and people in Rafah, including some injured by Israeli attacks. The vehicles were transporting 16 first responders (10 PRCS paramedics and 6 Civil Defense crews) responding to the aftermath of Israeli strikes in Al-Hashashin area of Rafah.

Around 10 am, journalists reported that contact was lost with Civil Defense crews who were sent to rescue PRCS crews targeted by the IDF.

On March 28, a joint mission involving Civil Defense, Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) and UNOCHA reached the area and found the PRCS and Civil Defense vehicles bombed and completely destroyed, along with a UN vehicle. Moreover the head of the Civil Defense mission to Rafah, Anwar al-Attar was found killed.

On March 30, another mission to search for the missing crew found most of the missing crew members killed, including a UN employee.

Al-Jazeera's fact checking agency, Sanad, obtained and analyzed satellite imagery which clearly showed IDF vehicles surrounding the rescue vehicles. The IDF confirmed that its troops had opened fire on several vehicles “advancing suspiciously toward IDF troops without headlights or emergency signals”.

The victims and the wrecked vehicles were buried collectively under the sand, as evidenced in UNOCHA footage of the search operations.

According to the Mnistry of Health and the Civil Defense spokesperson, the rescue crews were buried only a few metere away from their vehicles, meaning that they were taken out. He added that one of them had his clothes removed and another one was beheaded. Their bodies had marking of having been zip-tied, and benig shot by a hail of bullets.

Account of events by Jonathan Whittall, UNOCHA head of Gaza and West Bank office:

First responders should never be a target. Yet today UNOCHA supported @PalestineRCS and Civil Defense to retrieve colleagues from a mass grave in Rafah that was marked with the emergency light from one of their crushed ambulances.

Seven days ago, as Israeli forces advanced on Rafah, 10 PRCS and 6 Civil Defense first responders were dispatched to collect injured. All five ambulances and one fire-truck were struck, along with a UN vehicle that arrived later. Contact was lost with all.

One survivor said Israeli forces had killed both of the crew in his ambulance. For days, OCHA coordinated to reach the site but our access was only granted 5days later.

While traveling to the area on the fifth day we encountered hundreds of civilians fleeing under gunfire. We witnessed a woman shot in the back of the head. When a young man tried to retrieve her, he too was shot. We were able to recover her body using our UN vehicle.

Returning the next day, we were finally able to reach the site and discovered a devastating scene: ambulances, the UN vehicle, and fire truck had been crushed and partially buried. After hours of digging, we recovered one body - a Civil Defense worker beneath his fire truck.

Today, on the first day of Eid, we returned and recovered the buried bodies of 8 PRCS, 6 Civil Defense and 1 UN staff. They were killed in their uniforms. Driving their clearly marked vehicles. Wearing their gloves. On their way to save lives. This should never have happened

List of the members of the rescue mission:

  1. Mustafa Khafaja (Red Crescent, killed)
  2. Ezz El-Din Shaat (Red Crescent, killed)
  3. Saleh Muammar (Red Crescent, killed)
  4. Muhammad Bahloul (Red Crescent, killed)
  5. Muhammad Al-Hila (Red Crescent, killed)
  6. Ashraf Abu Libda (Red Crescent, killed)
  7. Raed Al-Sharif (Red Crescent, killed)
  8. Refaat Radwan (Red Crescent, killed)
  9. Asaad Al-Nsasra (Red Crescent, missing)
  10. Anwar Al-Attar (Civil Defense, killed)
  11. Fouad Al-Jammal (Civil Defense, killed)
  12. Yousef Khalifa (Civil Defense, killed)
  13. Zuhayr Al-Farra (Civil Defense, killed)
  14. Sameer Al-Bahabsa (Civil Defense, killed)
  15. Ibrahim Al-Mughari (Civil Defense, killed)
  16. unnamed United Nations staff member (killed)

People in Video

Jonathan Whittall

The details for each video come from social media. None of it has been verified.