Four aid workers were killed after Israel hit the headquarters of the Palestinian Red Crescent in the northern Gaza Strip in aerial strikes, the rescue service said Wednesday. The attack is a direct violation of international law.
"Today, Wednesday, in two different incidents, ambulances were hit killing four Palestine Red Crescent paramedics who were helping those in need," the Geneva-based IFRC said.
"The IFRC reiterates the call on all parties to respect their legal obligations under international humanitarian law. This is non-negotiable. Civilians, healthcare workers, health facilities and civilian infrastructure must be respected and protected at all times. They are not a target."
The IFRC said it sent its deepest condolences to the families, friends and colleagues of those killed on behalf of all 191 national Red Cross Red Crescent Societies.
The IFRC brings together more than 16 million volunteers around the world to help vulnerable people affected by disasters and health emergencies.
"The Red Cross, Red Crescent and Red Crystal are symbols of protection. International law protects the people who wear them, and the buildings and transport which display them. These people aren't part of a conflict – they're simply there to help anyone who needs it," according to the Red Cross.
The humanitarian situation in Gaza, which was already dire due to Israel's blockade, is set to worsen.
Gaza's Health Ministry said that all hospital beds in the territory are occupied, all medicines had been used up and supplies of medical equipment were running low.
The number killed in the Gaza Strip by Israeli air raids since Saturday has risen to at least 1,055.
Over 180,000 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip are packed into U.N. shelters as Israeli warplanes pound the tiny territory of 2.3 million people in retaliation to the operation by Hamas. There is no place for civilians to flee incessant Israeli attacks.
Israeli bombs struck Gaza's flagship Islamic University, government ministries and high-rises in the Rimal neighborhood. The bombing in Rimal and the potential risks of sheltering in U.N. schools highlighted the desperate search by Gaza civilians for refuge, with the territory's safe spaces rapidly shrinking. There are no civilian bomb shelters in Gaza. Ahead of the Israeli military's warning to civilians on Monday that Rimal would be hit, families staggered into the streets with whatever belongings they could carry and without a destination.
The Israeli defense minister also has ordered a "complete siege" on the already blockaded Gaza Strip, vowing to block food, water and fuel from the territory. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan harshly criticized Israeli attacks and strategy, saying that Israel was acting like a terrorist group rather than a state.
"Bombing civilian sites, killing civilians, blocking humanitarian aid and trying to present these as achievements are the acts of an organization and not a state," he said.
Türkiye usually uses the word "organization" when referring to terrorist groups like the PKK.
11 UN refugee agency workers killed in Gaza
Eleven workers with the U.N. Palestinian refugee agency have been killed in Israeli air strikes on the Gaza Strip since Saturday.
"We are very saddened to confirm that 11 UNRWA colleagues have been killed since 7 October in the Gaza Strip," UNWRA said in a statement.
It did not specify if they were Palestinian or foreign personnel but said they included five teachers at UNRWA schools, one gynecologist, one engineer, one psychological counselor and three support staff.
"Some were killed in their homes with their families. UNRWA mourns this loss and is grieving with our colleagues and the families," it said.
UNRWA (the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East) also said nearly 175,500 internally displaced people were sheltering in 88 of its schools across Gaza.
"The numbers continue to increase as airstrikes continue from the Israeli Air Forces," it said.
"UNRWA staff are working around the clock to respond to the needs of the displaced in the shelters. However, some are overcrowded and have limited availability of food, other basic items and potable water."
Established in 1949 following the first Arab-Israeli war, UNRWA provides public services including schooling, primary healthcare and humanitarian aid in Gaza, the West Bank, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon.
UNRWA said two of its schools had been affected by airstrikes, bringing the number of its facilities impacted by the conflict to 20. All of the schools it runs across the Gaza Strip remain closed.