THE UN RIGHTS chief today harshly condemned an Israel army attack last week on an emergency convoy that killed 15 aid workers and medical personnel and demanded an investigation.

The Palestinian Red Crescent said on Sunday it had recovered the bodies of eight of its medics, six members of Gaza’s civil defence agency and on UN employee. One Red Crescent medic remains missing.

“I condemn the attack by the Israeli army on a medical and emergency convoy on 23 March resulting in the killing of 15 medical personnel and humanitarian workers in Gaza,” United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk said in a statement.

“The subsequent discovery of their bodies eight days later in Rafah, buried near their clearly marked destroyed vehicles, is deeply disturbing,” he added.

“This raises significant questions with regard to the conduct of the Israeli army during and in the aftermath of the incident.”

The UN humanitarian agency OCHA told news agency AFP that “available information indicates that the first team was killed by Israeli forces on 23 March, and that other emergency and aid crews were struck one after another over several hours as they searched for their missing colleagues”.

The incident occurred in Rafah city’s Tal al-Sultan neighbourhood, close to the Egyptian border, just days after the military resumed its bombardments of Gaza following an almost two-month-long truce.

“They were buried under the sand, alongside their wrecked emergency vehicles – clearly marked ambulances, a fire truck and a UN car.”

Turk stressed in his statement that “medical personnel and humanitarian and emergency workers must be protected by all parties to the conflict, as required by international humanitarian law”.

“Such disappearances and killings raise serious concerns as tens of thousands of Palestinians need help while they are reportedly trapped in Tall Al-Sultan, Rafah, with the entire governorate under a displacement order,” he said.

Buildings that were destroyed during the Israeli ground and air operations stand in northern of Gaza Strip as seen from southern Israel today. Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo

The UN rights chief insisted that “Israel, as the occupying power, has the responsibility of protecting civilians and facilitating their access to basic lifesaving services, including healthcare”.

“My Office has on several occasions raised concerns about the detention and killing of medical and emergency personnel in Gaza, who are working under extremely difficult conditions,” he said, pointing out that “hundreds of them have been killed over the past 18 months”.

Turk called for clarification of “the fate and whereabouts of the last member of the Palestinian Red Crescent Society who remains missing”.

“There must be an independent, prompt and thorough investigation into the incident and those responsible for any violation of international law must be held to account,” he said.

At least 322 children reported killed in past 10 days

Israel’s renewed offensive in Gaza has reportedly left at least 322 children dead and 609 wounded in the Palestinian territory in the past 10 days, UNICEF said Monday.

The figures include children who were reportedly killed or wounded when the surgical department of Al Nasser Hospital, in southern Gaza, was hit in an attack on March 23, the UN children’s agency said in a statement.

UNICEF said most of these children were displaced, and sheltering in makeshift tents or damaged homes.

Ending a nearly two-month ceasefire in the war with Hamas, Israel resumed intense bombing of Gaza on March 18 and then launched a new ground offensive.

“The ceasefire in Gaza provided a desperately needed lifeline for Gaza’s children and hope for a path to recovery,” said UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell.

“But children have again been plunged into a cycle of deadly violence and deprivation.”

Russell added: “All parties must adhere to their obligations under international humanitarian law to protect children.”

The UNICEF statement said that after nearly 18 months of war, more than 15,000 children have reportedly been killed, over 34,000 reportedly injured, and nearly one million children have been displaced repeatedly and denied basic services.

elatives of Palestinians who lost their lives in an Israeli army attack mourn at Indonesia Hospital in Bait Lahia, Gaza, Palestine territory, on March 22, 2025. Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo

UNICEF called for an end to hostilities and for Israel to end its ban on humanitarian aid entering Gaza, which has been in force since March 2.

It also said children who are sick or wounded should be evacuated to receive medical attention.

“Food, safe water, shelter, and medical care have become increasingly scarce. Without these essential supplies, malnutrition, diseases and other preventable conditions will likely surge, leading to an increase in preventable child deaths,” UNICEF said.

“The world must not stand by and allow the killing and suffering of children to continue,” it added.