Aid Workers Discovered in Gaza Mass Grave After Israeli Strikes

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In southern Gaza, the bodies of over a dozen aid workers have been discovered in what a United Nations agency termed a “mass grave”. This comes a week after their disappearance following operations by Israeli forces.

Among the 14 bodies found on Sunday in the southern Rafah area, eight were identified as members of the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS), five belonged to civil defence, and one was a UN agency staff member, according to a PRCS statement. Another PRCS medic was still missing on Monday.

Previously, the body of a fifteenth individual, a civil defence worker, was recovered last Thursday, after PRCS reported being initially blocked from accessing the site. CNN has contacted the Israeli military for comments.

Mourners react during the funeral of eight Red Crescent emergency responders, recovered in Rafah a week after an Israeli attack, in Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip, on Monday, March 31, 2025.(AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

‘Health services must be protected’

International aid and humanitarian organisations have repeatedly condemned the Israeli military’s attacks on medical facilities and personnel.

“Even in the most complex conflict zones, there are rules. These rules of International Humanitarian Law could not be clearer – civilians must be protected; humanitarians must be protected. Health services must be protected,” Jagan Chapagain, Secretary General of the IFRC, said in a statement on Sunday.

Hospitals in Gaza, including Nasser Medical Complex, the largest operating hospital in the area, have been subjected to heavy bombardment and raids by Israeli forces accusing them of sheltering Hamas operatives.

About 400 aid workers, including teachers, doctors and nurses, have been killed in Israeli attacks in the enclave since October 7, 2023, according to OCHA’s latest update released Tuesday. The PRCS says the number of its staff killed in line of duty by Israeli forces in Gaza since October 2023 has now reached 27.

“The targeting of Red Crescent medics by the occupation can only be seen as a war crime under international humanitarian law, a law continually breached by the occupation with the world watching,” said PCRS.

Meanwhile, Gaza health officials said the death toll in Gaza since October 7 has surpassed 50,000, marking a grim milestone for a war with no end in sight.