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Red Cross outraged over killing of medics by Israeli forces in Gaza
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.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement that during an operation in southern Gaza on 23 March “several vehicles were identified advancing suspiciously toward IDF troops without headlights, or emergency signals, their movement was not co-ordinated in advance. Thus, IDF troops opened fire at the suspected vehicles.”
“Following an initial assessment, it was determined that the forces had eliminated a Hamas military operative, Mohammad Amin Ibrahim Shubaki, along with eight other terrorists from Hamas and the PIJ [Palestinian Islamic Jihad],” it added.
“Following the strike, the IDF co-ordinated with international organisations to facilitate the evacuation of the bodies.”
A previous IDF statement about the incident said an initial inquiry had determined that “some of the suspicious vehicles that were moving towards the troops were ambulances and fire trucks”. It also condemned what it called the “repeated use of civilian infrastructure by terrorist organisations”.
The IDF has not commented on the whereabouts of the missing PRCS medic. The OCHA said it was not clear if he was dead, had been detained or something else had happened.
Senior Hamas official Basem Naim condemned the attack.
“The targeted killing of rescue workers – who are protected under international humanitarian law – constitutes a flagrant violation of the Geneva Conventions and a war crime,” he said.
OCHA spokeswoman Olga Cherevko said there needed to be a full investigation to establish exactly what happened.
“They were aid workers in clearly marked vehicles, so this is why it’s obviously important to get to the bottom of it and get all the facts,” she told the BBC.
When asked about the IDF statements that Hamas and PIJ members had been killed, she said: “There are certain rules that all wars have, and this is why all parties to the conflict have to, obviously, abide by these rules. And this is what we’ve always said… But that doesn’t negate the fact that humanitarian aid workers and emergency responders shouldn’t be targeted.”
The incident in al-Hashashin happened on the same day that the IDF announced that its troops had encircled the nearby Tel al-Sultan area of Rafah and raided what it said was a Hamas command-and-control centre there.
On Monday, the IDF issued a sweeping new evacuation order for the entire Rafah region, telling all residents to head towards the nearby al-Mawasi humanitarian zone for their safety.
The IDF’s Arabic spokesperson warned that it was “returning to fight with great force to eliminate the capabilities of terrorist organizations in these areas”.
Israel launched its first major operation in Rafah last May, leaving large parts of it in ruins. However, tens of thousands of people returned to what was left of their homes in the city during the recent two-month-long ceasefire.
Israel renewed its aerial bombardment and ground offensive in Gaza on 18 March after the first phase of the ceasefire deal came to an end and negotiations on a second phase of the deal stalled.
At least 1,001 people have since been killed in Gaza since then, according to the territory’s Hamas-run health ministry.
The war erupted when Hamas attacked southern Israel on 7 October 2023, killing about 1,200 people and taking 251 back to Gaza as hostages.
The Israeli military launched a campaign to destroy Hamas in response, during which more than 50,350 people have been killed, the Gaza health ministry says.
[BBC]
Taking a decisive step towards safeguarding Sri Lanka’s maritime heritage, a high-level discussion was held today (18) at the Ministry of Environment.
Jointly chaired by the Deputy Minister of Environment Anton Jayakody and Deputy Minister of Defence Aruna Jayasekara, the meeting focused on the urgent need to prevent environmental pollution and protect the coastal waters around the northern seas and their adjacent islands.
The discussion was attended by senior naval officers, Secretary to the Ministry of Environment K.R. Uduwawala, Chairman of the Marine Environment Protection Authority (MEPA) Samantha Gunasekara, Director General of the Coast Conservation and Coastal Resource Management Department Prof. Turny Pradeep Kumara, and Conservator General of Forests along with several other officials from the Department of Wildlife Conservation and the Ministry of Environment, and the senior ecologists from IUCN.
The discussion placed a strong emphasis on enhancing environmental threats and accelerating the declaration of new Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) in the northern region. Officials emphasized that protecting this marine zone is crucial for conserving biodiversity, securing the livelihoods of local fishing communities, and enhancing Sri Lanka’s strategic maritime profile on the global stage.
Primary attention was drawn to the severe ecological destruction caused by Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated (IUU) fishing. The Ministers highlighted the grave threats these unlawful activities pose to both marine biodiversity and the economic stability of local fishermen, stressing the immediate need for comprehensive surveillance and stricter enforcement mechanisms. Furthermore, extensive discussions took place on how to divest a strategic destructive fishing practices—such as dynamite fishing, unauthorized spearfishing, and the use of banned fishing gear—which inflict irreversible damage on fragile coral reef systems and endangered fish species.
The meeting also addressed infrastructure and governance gaps within fishing harbors, identifying the lack of proper management and formal regulatory mechanisms as key vulnerabilities. As a progressive step forward, suitable islands and surrounding marine zones in the Northern Province have been identified for official declaration as Marine Protected Areas. It was clarified that establishing these MPAs will not restrict the livelihoods of local communities; instead, they are designed to protect and promote sustainable fishing and eco-tourism. Moving forward, these protected zones will be developed into premier eco-tourism destinations, creating new economic opportunities for the region. Ultimately, declaring these Marine Protected Areas will bring international recognition and strategic importance to Sri Lanka’s northern islands. By establishing these zones, Sri Lanka aligns itself strongly with global biodiversity commitments, showcasing its role on the international stage as a responsible custodian of the Indian Ocean’s rich marine resources.
During this discussion, it was proposed to establish a working group comprising experts from the Ministry of Tourism, the Ministry of Fisheries, the Ministry of Defence, the Ministry of Environment, and the Ministry of Justice to implement a joint mechanism for protecting the country’s coastal and marine resources, with the Ministry of Environment taking the lead in this initiative.
This conservation initiative marks yet another milestone in the country’s ongoing journey toward achieving a sustainable biosphere and an evergreen future.
Four crew members are in stable condition after two fighter jets collided mid-air during a US air show, officials say.
All the aircrew safely ejected from US Navy EA18-G jets that were performing an aerial demonstration when they crashed, a US Navy spokesperson told the BBC’s US partner CBS News. It is unclear if they were injured.
The dramatic incident happened on Sunday, during the second and final day of the Gunfighter Skies air show, 2 miles (3.2km) northwest of Idaho’s Mountain Home Air Force Base.
A fire erupted and the base was briefly locked down as the rest of the air show was cancelled. An investigation is underway.
“The aircrew involved in the incident are in stable condition,” Mountain Air Force Base Gunfighters said in statement posted on social media on Sunday.
“Thank you to all our guests for your patience and compassion, which has allowed us to quickly and safely respond to the incident,” the statement said.
Cmdr Amelia Umayam told CBS the crew members were being checked by medical personnel
Umayam said the EA-18G Growlers were assigned to an electronic attack squadron from Washington state. The US Navy says each of those jets cost about $67m (£50.3m).
Kim Sykes of Silver Wings of Idaho, which helped organise the air show, told a local CBS affiliate that no-one at the military base was hurt.
The Gunfighter Skies air show was last held in 2018, when a glider pilot died in an accident.
The BBC has contacted the air force base and event organiser for comment.
[BBC]
The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared an Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo a public health emergency of international concern.
The agency said the outbreak in DR Congo’s eastern Ituri province, which has seen around 246 suspected cases and 80 deaths reported, does not meet the criteria of a pandemic emergency.
But it warned it could potentially be “a much larger outbreak” than what is currently being detected and reported, with significant risk of local and regional spread.
The current strain of Ebola is caused by the Bundibugyo virus, the health agency said, for which there are no approved drugs or vaccines.
Early symptoms include fever, muscle pain, fatigue, headache and sore throat, and are followed by vomiting, diarrhoea, a rash and bleeding.
The WHO said there are now eight laboratory-confirmed cases of the virus, with other suspected cases and deaths across three health zones including Bunia the capital of Ituri province, and the gold-mining towns of Mongwalu and Rwampara.
One case of the virus has been confirmed in the capital Kinshasa, believed to be in a patient returning from Ituri.
The WHO said that the virus has spread beyond DR Congo, with two confirmed cases reported in neighbouring Uganda. Ugandan officials said a 59-year-old man who died on Thursday had tested positive.
In a statement, the Ugandan government said the patient who died was a Congolese citizen whose body had already been returned to DR Congo.
A laboratory has also confirmed an Ebola case in the eastern city of Goma, currently controlled by the M23 rebels, the AFP news agency reported on Sunday.
At least six Americans have been exposed to Ebola in DR Congo, and one has displayed symptoms but none have been confirmed to have been infected, the BBC’s US partner CBS reports, citing sources.
The US government was reportedly trying to transport them out of the country, possibly to a military base in Germany, STAT News reports.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said it planned to send more staff to DR Congo and Uganda, while the US Embassy in DR Congo issued a health alert reminding citizens not to travel to Ituri province.
The BBC has contacted the CDC for comment.
The WHO said the ongoing security situation and humanitarian crisis in DR Congo, combined with high population mobility, the urban location of the hotspot, and the large number of informal healthcare facilities in the region increased the risk of spread.
[BBC]
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