A group of 15 paramedics and rescue workers from the Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) and Gaza’s Civil Defence, who disappeared while responding to casualties in Rafah, are believed to have been executed by Israeli forces.

PRCS confirmed the rescue workers “vanished” while on duty in the Tal Sultan neighbourhood in southern Gaza. They had arrived in response to an Israeli bombing and were attempting to save lives when they were abducted. In a statement issued on Friday, PRCS detailed its efforts to locate the team, working alongside the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

“So far, no trace of our team members has been found. Yesterday, we discovered the four ambulance vehicles completely destroyed and buried in the sand,” PRCS stated in reference to its nine missing members. “The occupation is deliberately obstructing search efforts to uncover the fate of our missing teams.”