“Common ditch,” says UN on a place with bodies of humanitarian employees

The bodies of eight doctors of the red growing humanitarian movement and other Palestinian rescuers who were attacked over a week ago were recovered from a grave in the sand in the south of the Gaza Strip, United Nations (UN) officials said.

Philippe Lazzarini, head of the UN Agency for Palestinian Refugees (Unrwa), wrote in a publication on the X on Monday (31) that the bodies were “discarded in shallow pits-a profound violation of human dignity.”

In a statement at the end of Sunday (30), the Red Cross International Committee said it was “shocked” with the deaths.

“Their bodies were identified today and recovered for a decent burial. These employees and volunteers were risking their own lives to support others,” the committee said.

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crossing Societies (FICV) stated that a worker from the group of nine Red Crescent members was still missing.

No details were revealed about where the bodies were found. The group disappeared on March 23, after Israel resumed a total offensive against Hamas earlier this month.

The growing red Palestinian said it also recovered the bodies of six Civil Defense agents and an UN employee in the same area.

Although the Red Crescent stated that Israeli forces targeted workers, Red Cross statements did not attribute guilt for the attacks.

The army of Israel declared on Monday that an inquiry found that on March 23, troops opened fire on a group of vehicles that included ambulances and fire trucks when vehicles approached a position without previous coordination and no emergency signs or signs.

Also according to the army, several militants belonging to the Hamas and Islamic Jihad groups were killed.

“IDF condemns the repeated use of civil infrastructure by terrorist organizations in the Gaza Strip, including the use of medical facilities and terrorist ambulances,” he said in a statement.

Jonathan Whittall, head of the UN Humanitarian Coordination Office in Gaza, described the place where the bodies were found as a “ordinary grave”, saying it had been marked with the emergency light of a wrinkled ambulance.

His comments were accompanied by photos of Red Crescent Ringing in the sand in search of the bodies next to a crumpled fire truck and a UN vehicle.

The Israeli army did not directly commented on the deaths of the Red Crescent workers. In a statement after Reuters, he added that he had facilitated the withdrawal of the bodies from the area, which he described as an active combat zone. Did not specifically answer questions about why the bodies were recovered under the sand or why the vehicles were found wrinkled .

Lazzarini said the deaths raised the total number of humanitarian workers killed since the beginning of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza to 408.

The incident was the deadliest attack on Red Cross and Red Red workers anywhere since 2017, FICV said.

“I am heartbroken. These dedicated ambulance workers were responding to injured people. They were humanitarian,” said FICV secretary general Jagan Chapagain.

“They used emblems that should protect them; their ambulances were clearly marked,” he added.

According to the United Nations, at least 1,060 health professionals have been killed in the 18 months since Israel launched their offensive in Gaza after Hamas fighters invaded southern Israel on October 7, 2023.

Due to safety concerns, the UN is reducing its international team in Gaza in one third.

This content was originally published in “Common Ditch,” says UN on a place with bodies of humanitarian employees on the CNN Brazil website.

Source: CNN Brasil