The State Department on Monday blamed Hamas when asked about the Israeli execution of 15 Palestinian medics and rescue workers who were recovered from a mass grave in the southern Gaza city of Rafah.
The 15 workers included eight members of the Palestinian Red Crescent, five Civil Defense workers, and one UN staffer. Jonathan Whittall, the head of the UN’s Humanitarian Affairs Office (OCHA) in Palestine, said the evidence indicated that the first responders were shot and killed by Israeli forces “one by one” and buried along with their ambulances and other vehicles.
“We’re digging them out in their uniforms, with their gloves on. They were here to save lives. Instead, they ended up in a mass grave,” Whittall said. “These ambulances have been buried in the sand. There’s a UN vehicle here, buried in the sand. A bulldozer – Israeli forces bulldozer – has buried them.”
When asked about the comments from the UN, State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce immediately blamed Hamas. “I can tell you that for too long, Hamas has abused civilian infrastructure, cynically using it to shield themselves. Hamas’s actions have caused humanitarians to be caught in the crossfire,” she said.
When pressed on whether the US would assess the situation since there’s a chance Israeli forces used American weapons, Bruce said, “Every single thing that is happening in Gaza is happening because of Hamas. Every single dynamic.”
According to the Palestinian Red Crescent Society, each recovered body was hit with around 20 gunshots. “Israeli occupation forces brutally, savagely executed the Civil Defense teams,” said PRCS spokesman Mahmoud Basal.
The Israeli military has acknowledged its forces opened fire on ambulances in Rafah but claimed it was a mistake. The IDF claimed its forces took out Hamas militants during the incident and killed a Hamas operative named Mohammed Amin Shobaki. However, the IDF offered no evidence, and no other bodies were recovered at the scene.
