Palestinian Red Crescent: 'Israel' abducts medic after massacre of team in Rafah

The Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) announced on Saturday that 'Israeli' forces are holding paramedic Asaad Al-Nassasrah, whose whereabouts had been unknown since an 'Israeli' attack targeted an ambulance crew in Rafah, southern Gaza.

According to the PRCS, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) informed them that Al-Nassasrah is being detained by 'Israeli' authorities. He had disappeared while performing his humanitarian duty amid intense gunfire from 'Israeli' forces, an assault that killed eight members of the PRCS team.

The abduction comes in the wake of a deadly incident on 23 March, when 15 Palestinian paramedics and rescue workers were killed by 'Israeli' forces after responding to an airstrike in Rafah’s al-Hashashin district. According to two eyewitnesses, some of the bodies—discovered nine days later in a mass grave—had their hands or legs tied and showed gunshot wounds to the head and chest, indicating a potential war crime.

International humanitarian teams were only granted access to the site this weekend. One body was recovered on Saturday, and 14 more were found in a sandy grave on Sunday, later transported to Khan Younis for autopsy and investigation.

The organization condemned the attack as a blatant violation of international humanitarian law, which guarantees protection for medical personnel during armed conflict.

The PRCS called on the international community to take immediate action and pressure Israel to release Al-Nassasrah and hold those responsible for the killings accountable. It emphasized that the targeting of medical workers is a serious breach of human rights and international conventions designed to protect healthcare teams in conflict zones.