Israeli forces kill 64 Palestinians in Gaza attacks on Eid
World
Eight medics from Palestine Red Crescent Society killed on duty in Gaza
(Web Desk) – At least 64 people, including children, in Gaza on the first day of Eidul Fitr by Israeli forces, confirmed Palestinian officials.
Hamas has condemned the Israel for killing civilians on Eid, including children in their festive clothes, saying it exposes Israel’s “fascism and its denial of any human or moral values”
Meanwhile, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies is outraged at the deaths of eight medics from Palestine Red Crescent Society, killed on duty in Gaza.
An emergency medical team of nine disappeared along with their ambulances when they came under heavy fire in Al-Hashashin on 23 March. After seven days of silence and having access denied to the area of Rafah where they were last seen, the bodies of 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 were retrieved today (30 March). Ambulance officer Assad Al-Nassasra is still missing.
IFRC Secretary General Jagan Chapagain said: “I am heartbroken. These dedicated ambulance workers were responding to wounded people. They were humanitarians. They wore emblems that should have protected them; their ambulances were clearly marked. They should have returned to their families; they did not.”
“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.
“Our network is in mourning, but this is not enough. Instead of another call on all parties to protect and respect humanitarians and civilians, I pose a question: ‘When will this stop? All parties must stop the killing, and all humanitarians must be protected.’”
Palestinians in the Gaza Strip had little to celebrate on Sunday as they began marking a normally festive Muslim holiday with rapidly dwindling food supplies and no end in sight to the Israel-Hamas war. Israeli strikes overnight into Sunday killed at least 19 people, mostly women and children, health officials said.
Many held prayers outside demolished mosques on the Eid al-Fitr holiday marking the end of the fasting month of Ramadan. It’s supposed to be a joyous occasion, when families gather for feasts and purchase new clothes for children — but most of Gaza’s 2 million Palestinians are just trying to survive.
