Israeli Government Refutes Allegations of Bombing Gaza Ambulance and Killing Medical Personnel

The Israeli military on Thursday denied bombing an ambulance in the central Gaza Strip the previous day, killing four medics and two others. The Palestinian Red Crescent Society had reported six people killed in the strike on their ambulance at the entrance to the Deir al-Balah area. The head of the International Federation for Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies called the attack “unacceptable” and “strongly condemned” the killings. Mourners gathered for the funerals of the medics, with a bloodied Palestinian Red Crescent uniform placed atop one of the white shrouds. The ambulance had been on Salah al-Din Road, a highway running north-south through the Gaza Strip. Earlier on Wednesday, the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza reported multiple people killed in an Israeli strike near a hospital in Deir al-Balah. Over 23,350 people, mostly civilians, have been killed in more than three months of war between Hamas and Israel. Before Wednesday’s ambulance strike, the health ministry reported over 120 ambulances destroyed and at least 326 healthcare workers killed since the conflict started. The war erupted with a Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, resulting in around 1,140 deaths in Israel, mostly civilians. The Israeli military says 186 soldiers have been killed fighting in Gaza.