Rafah: The Palestinian Red Crescent Society reported that its teams successfully entered Tel al-Sultan in Rafah, located in the southern Gaza Strip, to recover the body of a paramedic. This recovery comes after an Israeli siege trapped nine medics in the area five days ago.
According to Anadolu Agency, the organization stated that after five days of coordination attempts, its teams, accompanied by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), reached Tel al-Sultan. This area had been besieged and targeted by Israeli forces, impacting medical crews.
Rescue workers managed to recover the body of one paramedic but had to withdraw due to the onset of darkness. They plan to resume their search efforts on Friday morning. This operation follows an intense air and ground assault by Israeli forces on Tel al-Sultan last Sunday, which resulted in civilian casualties and trapped emergency responders.
The Red Cross had previously reported losing contact with its medical teams after they were besieged by Israeli forces while attempting to rescue victims of air and artillery strikes in Rafah. Meanwhile, Gaza’s media office claimed that Israeli forces had abducted 15 paramedics and civil defense workers in Rafah and called for international intervention to pressure Tel Aviv for their release.
The recent surge in violence began when the Israeli army launched a surprise aerial campaign on the Gaza Strip on March 18. This assault killed 855 people, injured nearly 1,900 others, and disrupted a ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement established in January.
Since October 2023, more than 50,000 Palestinians, mainly women and children, have been killed, and over 113,900 injured due to a protracted Israeli military campaign in Gaza. Additionally, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants last November for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.