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Women Journalists Without Chains (WJWC) has condemned the actions of Israeli occupation forces in the Gaza Strip as unprecedented crimes in the history of warfare.
The organization specifically highlighted the targeted killings of paramedics and civil defense personnel conducting limited rescue operations amid the ongoing bombardment that began in October 2023. WJWC emphasized that these actions constitute grave violations of international law and UN resolutions. The organization warned that the violence reflects a systematic policy of brutality, aided by powerful international backers and a global failure to intervene—amounting to complicity.
WJWC denounced the besiegement and execution of 15 paramedics and civil defense workers by Israeli forces, part of what it described as a genocidal campaign. Since March 18, over 1,040 Palestinians have been killed, including 123 during the first three days of Eid al-Fitr, with 53 killed on Eid day alone. According to the Gaza Ministry of Health, the death toll since October 7, 2023, has surpassed 50,357, with many victims still under rubble or lying in streets, unreachable due to continuous bombardment.
WJWC stated that since March 18, Israeli forces resumed a campaign of killing, destruction, and the imposition of unbearable conditions intended to contribute to civilian annihilation. These acts are compounded by the obstruction of humanitarian aid and forced displacement policies. It also noted that the Israeli government, under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, appears to be implementing policies aligned with proposals previously advanced by former U.S. President Donald Trump to depopulate Gaza.
Massacre and Cover-up of Paramedics and Civil Defense Crews
Women Journalists Without Chains has documented one of the most harrowing crimes committed by the Israeli occupation forces—the systematic execution of paramedics and civil defense personnel in the Gaza Strip—describing it as an unprecedented atrocity in the history of warfare. The organization condemned both the killings and the deliberate attempts to cover up the crime, which it said reflects a declared policy by occupation leaders to depopulate Gaza of its Palestinian inhabitants.
On the morning of Eid al-Fitr, a joint team from the Palestinian Red Crescent, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), and the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reached the al-Muharrarat Road area in central Gaza. After extensive searching, the team discovered 14 bodies buried in a deep hole, apparently to obstruct identification. According to a statement issued by the Gaza Ministry of Health on March 30, among the victims were eight Palestinian Red Crescent paramedics, five civil defense personnel, and one unidentified individual. Some of the victims were found with hands tied, and had sustained fatal injuries to the head and chest, indicating execution-style killings.
This discovery followed a tragic incident that began on March 23, when Israeli military vehicles bombed the Hashashin neighborhood in Rafah. In response to distress calls, a team of nine Red Crescent paramedics attempted a rescue operation but were besieged and fired upon by Israeli forces. A civil defense team dispatched to assist them also came under siege, and contact with both groups was lost for five days. Satellite images later revealed at least five emergency vehicles surrounded by Israeli tanks on Al-Muharrarat Road. When access was finally granted, only the remains of Civil Defense team leader Anwar Abdel Hamid Al-Attar were recovered; the rest remained missing until the bodies were discovered on Eid.
Systematic Targeting of Health Sector and Rescue Services
Since the start of the genocide on October 7, 2023, WJWC reports that at least 1,513 medical and civil defense workers have been killed by Israeli forces. This includes 1,403 healthcare professionals, some of whom possessed rare medical expertise. Among them was Dr. Said Joudeh, the only orthopedic surgeon in northern Gaza, who was assassinated on Thursday, December 12.
In addition to the killings, the Israeli occupation forces have detained at least 362 healthcare workers, further crippling Gaza’s collapsing healthcare system. One of the most prominent detainees is Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya, director of Kamal Adwan Hospital, who was arrested on December 27, 2024, following an attack that bombed and burned parts of the hospital, killing members of the medical team and forcing the evacuation of patients and the wounded.
WJWC stated that the harsh treatment the Palestinian doctor was subjected to illustrates part of the policy of targeting the health system. After 47 days of detention, the lawyer was able to meet with the Palestinian doctor, who revealed that he was subjected to excessive torture by the occupation forces for continuing to provide essential services under the guise of genocide and for exposing the systematic policy targeting the health system. On March 5, an occupation court upheld the detention of Hussam Abu Safia as an unlawful combatant, as a retaliatory measure to deny him justice. The occupation forces targeted all health facilities in the Gaza Strip with bombardment, including 34 hospitals, rendering them completely or partially out of service, as well as 142 health centers and institutions, and destroying at least 130 ambulances.
WJWC described the targeting of health workers and civil defense crews as part of Israeli measures to impose a reality that contributes to the destruction of civilians and the realization of genocide. This is achieved by eliminating personnel conducting limited rescue operations, and there is clear evidence of the humanitarian nature of their work. During its attacks on Gaza, the Israeli occupation forces killed 111 civil defense personnel. The number of destroyed centers and headquarters reached 17, including 14 completely destroyed. 56 vehicles were also destroyed, including 12 firefighting and rescue vehicles completely destroyed, two rapid intervention rescue vehicles, four water tankers, three ambulances, a hydraulic rescue ladder, and 13 administrative vehicles.
The Civil Defense Authority in Gaza reported that its teams performed tasks equivalent to 40 years of normal operations during the year of the Israeli war of extermination on the Strip. They noted that all Civil Defense personnel experienced psychological trauma from losing relatives or their homes, with over 47 percent facing physical danger. According to WJWC's reviewed reports, these crews recovered tens of thousands of dead and injured individuals throughout the conflict. However, due to the deliberate targeting of rescue service providers and their resources, along with escalating attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure, Civil Defense was unable to respond to over 90,000 distress calls received during the year from October 2023 to October 2024.
The crews were able to recover hundreds of bodies during the ceasefire. According to the humanitarian protocol of the ceasefire agreement, a number of supplies and equipment were supposed to be brought in to help remove the rubble, in addition to humanitarian aid. WJWC stated that while civil defense teams awaited the implementation of an agreement for supply entry to aid in rubble removal, Israeli occupation forces resumed their assault on March 18. That night, airstrikes targeted residential homes and shelters for the displaced, resulting in the deaths of over 439 Palestinians, including around 170 children and more than 85 women, in mere moments. These attacks also affected medical and civil defense personnel.
International law safeguards paramedics and civil defense workers as civilians, explicitly prohibiting assaults on them, humanitarian workers, and journalists identifiable by their attire. UN Resolution 2675 categorically bans indiscriminate or targeted attacks on hospitals, medical facilities, and personnel engaged in humanitarian efforts. Additionally, UN Resolution 1946 defines "intentionally causing damage to the living conditions of a group with the intent to bring about its physical destruction" as an act of genocide. Article 6(c) of the Rome Statute outlines the elements of genocide, stating that damaging a group's living conditions aims to bring about its physical destruction, in whole or in part.
Women Journalists Without Chains has once again urged the international community to take immediate and decisive measures to stop the ongoing genocide in the Gaza Strip and to confront the Israeli occupation's deliberate targeting of civilians, rescue workers, and civil defense teams—tactics that appear intended to escalate the death toll. WJWC also called for the imposition of meaningful sanctions on Israel and the suspension of agreements that provide it with privileges, as these may embolden further violations.
The organization emphasized the need for strong and impactful pressure to help put an end to these atrocities. Additionally, WJWC appealed to the United Nations and international human rights organizations to conduct a thorough investigation into all crimes committed in Gaza, with the goal of holding perpetrators accountable before international justice.
