The Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRC) calls for an independent international investigation into the “intentional killing” of 15 medical and humanitarian workers in the attack in Gaza.

The attacks on March 23 in the southern Gaza city of Rafa “constituted a full-scale war crime, reflecting the dangerous pattern of repeated violations of international humanitarian law”, the group said in a statement on Monday.

China’s president Younis al-Khatib said an independent committee is needed to “build facts and take responsibility”.

Israeli forces opened fire on medical personnel, who were driving in ambulances to help injured people at the scene of an earlier attack in Israel.

video Recovered from your phone recently One of the medical staff showed their last moments. Medical staff wearing highly reflective uniforms inside clearly identifiable rescue vehicle Shot by Israeli troops In the Talsurdan community in Rafa.

According to China, the convoy was under heavy gunfire for about five minutes. It said the communication between the team and the central dispatch center “confirm that the gunfire lasted for no less than two hours” and kept firing until it completely lost contact with one of the medical staff.

According to Al-Khatib, a survivor confirmed this, saying the ambulance was directly criticized without warning. Survivors also said that Israeli officials used him as a “human shield” before they could escape.

“No longer enough to show respect for international law and the Geneva Convention,” Al-Khatib told reporters from El-Bireh in the occupied West Bank. “Now, the international community and the UN Security Council require the necessary punishment for all responsible persons.”

“Who is telling the truth?”

Al-Khatib also called on the international community to maintain assistance personnel and prevent targeting hospitals, medical centers and ambulances.

He also asked Israel to disclose the whereabouts of Chinese staff who are still missing.

China lost eight workers in the attack. Six members of the Palestine Civil Defense Agency and employees of the UNHCR were also killed.

The Israeli military claimed that its soldiers “did not randomly attack” any ambulances, insisting that they shoot “terrorists” who approached them with “suspicious vehicles.”

“In the absence of headlights or emergency signals, several uncoordinated vehicles were found to be advancing suspiciously toward (the Israeli army).”

But Al-Khatib refuted the claim, saying the ambulance had emergency lights.

“We are used to false allegations in Israel and fabricated stories about what happened in the Gaza Strip in China,” Al-Khatib said.

He added: “We believe that the world, including media representatives, has now realized who is telling the truth.”

-Palestine Red Crescent Society calls for independent international investigations to hold those ambulance teams responsible for Rafah’s crimes

The Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) confirmed that the target of Israel’s ambulance convoy is… pic.twitter.com/yvtuxnolam

– PRCS (@palestinercs) April 7, 2025

China said in a statement that the region was not classified as a “red area” in the emergency response, meaning there is no need for prior coordination to visit the location.

It said a few days after that Israeli forces blocked rescue teams from entering the area under the pretext of a “red area.”

It said only limited access was granted before Israeli forces forced the rescue team to evacuate.

On March 30, 14 other bodies Discovered China added that it is a “massive grave that violates human dignity in a cruel and dirty way.”

The attack was condemned by the Civil Defence, Gaza Government Media Office, Hamas and the United Nations Human Rights Human Rights High Commissioner Volker Turk.

Meanwhile, Tom Fletcher, head of the UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, said that since March 18, Israel broke the ceasefire in Gaza and resumed war on the enclave, Israeli air strikes attacked “a densely populated area” and “patients were killed in their hospital beds, shot dead in their hospital beds and initially shot by responders.”

According to UNRWA, at least 408 aid workers, including 280 near-outdoor workers, have been killed in Gaza since the war began on 7 October 2023.

Gaza’s Ministry of Health said at least 921 people have been killed in the territory since March 18, an increase of more than 50,000 people have been killed since the war began, most of them children and women.

The violence caused heads of UN agencies to call on Monday to immediately renew Israel’s unilateral ceasefire and re-enter humanitarian aid into Gaza.