The Red Cross movement has expressed outrage that eight Palestinian medics were killed along with six Civil Defence first responders and a UN staff member by Israeli forces in southern Gaza.

Five ambulances, a fire truck and a UN vehicle were struck “one by one” in the al-Hashashin area on 23 March, according to a UN official. The 15 bodies were recovered from a “mass grave” on Sunday, he said.

The Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) said a ninth medic was missing and accused Israel of targeting staff.

Israel’s military said troops fired on vehicles “advancing suspiciously” without headlights or emergency signals. It said a Hamas operative and “eight other terrorists” were among those killed.

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) said in a statement on Sunday that the eight bodies of PRCS medics were retrieved “after seven days of silence and having access denied to the area of Rafah where they were last seen”.

The organisation identified those killed as ambulance officers Mostafa Khufaga, Saleh Muamer and Ezzedine Shaath, and first responder volunteers Mohammad Bahloul, Mohammed al-Heila, Ashraf Abu Labda, Raed al-Sharif and Rifatt Radwan.

It added that ambulance officer Assad al-Nassasra was “still missing”.

“I am heartbroken. These dedicated ambulance workers were responding to wounded people. They were humanitarians,” IFRC Secretary General Jagan Chapagain said.

“They wore emblems that should have protected them; their ambulances were clearly marked.

“Even in the most complex conflict zones, there are rules. These rules of International Humanitarian Law could not be clearer – civilians must be protected; humanitarians must be protected. Health services must be protected.”

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said in a separate statement that it was “appalled” that the medics were killed while carrying out their work.

The head of the UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Gaza, Jonathan Whittall, said in a post on X on Sunday that its staff had supported the PRCS and Civil Defence in recovering the 15 bodies of the PRCS medics, Civil Defence first responders and UN staff member from “a mass grave… that was marked with the emergency light from one of their crushed ambulances”.

In a video that was posted online on Monday, Mr Whittall said: “Seven days ago, Civil Defence 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 with uniforms, with their gloves on. They were here to save lives. Instead, they ended up in a mass grave.”

“Their vehicles… are crushed and dumped, covered in sand next to us. It’s an absolute horror what has happened here. This should never happen. Healthcare workers should never be a target.”

The head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (Unrwa), Philippe Lazzarini, said the UN staff member was one of its employees and that the burial of the bodies in “shallow graves” was “a profound violation of human dignity”.

The PRCS said it was devastated by the “massacre of our team”.

“[Israel’s] targeting of Red Crescent medics, despite the protected status of their mission and the Red Crescent emblem can only be considered a war crime punishable under international humanitarian law,” a statement added.

At the funeral for the medics on Monday, the father of Ashraf Abu Labda told the BBC: “They [Israeli troops] targeted the first vehicle, then the second and then the third. They killed them in cold blood.”

“We’ve been trying to look for them for eight days. They refused all co-ordination with Red Crescent, OCHA, or the UN. No-one can hold them accountable. Only God,” Nasser Abu Labda said.