Red Cross gravely concerned for nine missing medics in Gaza

GENEVA (Reuters) - The Red Cross said on Saturday it is gravely concerned about the fate of nine Palestine Red Crescent ambulance crew who have been missing for seven days in Gaza.

The international humanitarian organisation has not had any contact with the crew since they came under heavy fire while operating in Rafah in the early hours of March 23, it said in a statement.

"It is vital that there is information and access to ensure the safe return of these humanitarians to their families who are in a nightmare without knowing if their loved ones are alive," it stated.

According to the U.N. at least 1,060 healthcare workers have been killed in the eighteen months since Israel launched its offensive in Gaza after Hamas fighters stormed southern Israel on October 7 2023. Hamas killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took more than 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.

More than 50,000 people have died in Gaza, the majority civilians, according to the health authorities in Gaza. The Israeli military said it does its best to reduce harm to civilians and questioned the death toll provided by health authorities in the Hamas-run territory.

(Reporting by Olivia Le Poidevin)