ICRC: Palestinian Medic Attacked in Gaza is Being Detained in “Israeli” Entity

By Staff, Agencies

The International Committee of the Red Cross [ICRC] has confirmed that Palestinian paramedic Assad al-Nsasrah—who went missing during a brutal assault on medics in Gaza last month—is currently being held in detention by the "Israeli" authorities.

Al-Nsasrah had disappeared on March 23 after an "Israeli" attack targeted a rescue mission involving Palestinian Red Crescent [PRCS] staff and civil defense workers in Rafah.

The team had been attempting to reach injured colleagues when their ambulances came under heavy fire. His detention raises further alarm over the treatment of humanitarian personnel amid ongoing assaults on Gaza.

Fifteen Palestinian paramedics and rescue workers, including at least one United Nations employee, martyred in the "Israeli".

The UN has said they were deliberately shot “one by one” and the bodies, along with the rescue vehicles, were then buried with a bulldozer in a sandy pit, in what appears to have been an attempt to cover up the crime. Witnesses who uncovered the bodies said the workers were found still in their uniforms and some had their hands tied.

The Red Crescent called the attack on its workers a “grave violation of international law” and has called for an international investigation.

Nsasrah, 47, from Gaza, who had been working for Red Crescent for 16 years, was among the medics in the ambulances caught up in the ambush, and he had not been seen since.

In an interview with the Guardian, another survivor, the Red Crescent volunteer Munther Abed, 27, said he had seen Nsasrah being taken away alive and blindfolded by "Israeli" officers at the scene of the crime.

On Sunday, the ICRC said it had “received information that the PRCS medic Assad al-Nsasrah has been detained in an 'Israeli' place of detention”.

The ICRC spokesperson gave no further details on where Nsasrah was being held and confirmed that "Israel" had not granted access to visit him.

“The ICRC continues to call for access to all places of detention and reiterates publicly and privately that all detainees must always be treated humanely and with dignity," said the spokesperson.

In a statement, PRCS called on the international community to demand the release of Nsasrah, a father of six, stating that he had been “forcibly abducted while carrying out his humanitarian duties," yet there was no immediate comment from the 'Israeli' forces."

The “Israeli” Occupation Forces [IOF] have faced mounting pressure over inconsistencies in their account of the attack. They had initially claimed troops opened fire on vehicles that were “advancing suspiciously” without headlights or emergency signals.

However, the IOF had to backtrack after mobile phone footage, from a medic who was among those targeted at the scene, showed the ambulances – clearly marked with the Red Crescent logo – driving with flashing red emergency lights and headlights on their vehicles.

Abed, the medic who survived the attack, described how he was held for several hours by IOF after the ambulances came under fire. He said he was fully stripped, beaten again and interrogated about his past before he was finally released.

The IOF said they were now re-examining “operational information” to understand why the initial account had been “mistaken”, and that an investigation was being carried out.