The bodies of 15 Red Crescent aid workers, who went missing a week ago, have been recovered from a mass grave in southern Gaza, deepening concerns over the humanitarian crisis in the region. 

According to media reports, the remains of eight medical workers and other Palestinian rescue personnel were discovered in a shallow sand grave.

Reports suggest that these aid workers were last seen during an Israeli attack, after which they were reported missing. UN officials have confirmed the discovery of the bodies, calling it a grave violation of human dignity. Philippe Lazzarini, the head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), stated on the social media platform X that the bodies had been dumped in shallow graves, which he described as a disturbing breach of humanitarian values.

In a strong statement, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) condemned the incident, emphasizing that these workers were risking their lives to help others. "The bodies have now been identified and will be laid to rest with dignity," the organization said. However, one member of the nine-person Red Crescent team remains missing, according to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC).

The aid workers disappeared on March 23, the same day Israel resumed its full-scale military operation against Hamas in Gaza. Alongside the Red Crescent personnel, six civil defense workers and a UN employee were also found buried in the same area. The Palestinian Red Crescent has accused the Israeli army of directly targeting the workers, though the Red Cross refrained from assigning blame.

Meanwhile, the Israeli military acknowledged that on March 23, its forces opened fire on a convoy of vehicles, including ambulances and fire trucks, which were allegedly moving toward Israeli positions without prior coordination or emergency signals. According to the Israeli military, the attack resulted in the deaths of several Hamas and Islamic Jihad fighters.

UN humanitarian coordinator Jonathan Whittall labeled the site of the mass burial as a "collective grave", pointing out that it was marked by the flashing emergency light of a crushed ambulance. Released images show Red Crescent teams retrieving bodies from beneath a wrecked fire truck and a damaged UN vehicle.