A UN aid official on Wednesday condemned Israel’s “war without limits” in Gaza after a mass grave was discovered in Rafah, containing the bodies of 15 medics killed when Israeli forces fired on ambulances. Jonathan Whittall of OCHA described the scene as shocking, noting that the medical workers were still in uniform.
“The ambulances were hit one by one,” he said in a video conference after a mission to Gaza uncovered the mass grave. Among the 15 bodies, eight belonged to members of the Palestinian Red Crescent, and one was from the United Nations.
UN chief António Guterres expressed outrage on Wednesday, while OCHA reported that aid teams were repeatedly targeted on March 23 as they searched for missing colleagues.
“The secretary-general is shocked by the Israeli army’s attacks on a medical and emergency convoy on March 23, which resulted in the killing of 15 medical personnel and humanitarian workers in Gaza,” spokesman Stéphane Dujarric told a briefing.
After weeks of ceasefire, Israel resumed bombardments on March 18 and expanded its military operations.
Whittall noted that 64% of Gaza is under displacement orders, with 200,000 people uprooted since the ceasefire ended. UN-run bakeries have shut down, worsening the humanitarian crisis.
“Gaza has become a death trap,” he warned, calling the situation an affront to humanity and international law.
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