Israeli military ambush kills medics in Rafah, husband still missing

More than three weeks after the Israeli strike, Nafiza al-Nsasrah searches for her husband, a detained Red Crescent medic.

Palestinians examine the destruction at an ambulance repair yard following Israeli airstrikes in the al-Maghazi refugee camp, located in the central Gaza Strip, on March 24, 2025. Photo by Eyad Baba/AFP

By Anna Fadiah and Hayu Andini

More than three weeks have passed since an Israeli military ambush killed 15 medics responding to an emergency in southern Gaza, yet Nafiza al-Nsasrah has still received no word about the whereabouts of her husband, Asaad, who was among the convoy crew that came under fire. This Israeli military ambush kills medics in Rafah and has left families like the Nsasrahs in painful uncertainty, with no confirmation of their loved ones' health or detention conditions.

Sitting in a makeshift tent in Khan Yunis, Nafiza clutched a worn photo of Asaad dressed in his Red Crescent medic uniform, his hands on the wheel of an ambulance. “We have no information, no idea which prison he’s in or where he is being held, or what his health condition is,” she said, her voice nearly drowned out by the constant drone of an Israeli surveillance aircraft circling overhead.

A deadly night in Rafah

In the early hours of March 23, a convoy of Palestinian ambulances and a firetruck drove into Tal al-Sultan, a neighborhood in Rafah, to respond to emergency calls. It was a routine mission in a war-torn territory—but this time, the vehicles never made it back.

Israeli forces opened fire on the convoy, according to the Palestinian Red Crescent and the United Nations humanitarian office, OCHA. Eight Red Crescent staff members, six workers from Gaza’s civil defense, and one employee of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) were killed in the attack. Their bodies were later found buried in a shallow grave in the sand, close to where the convoy had been ambushed.

Only one member of the crew survived. He was detained by Israeli forces but later released. The attack left not only a grave but a trail of unanswered questions.

A medic among the missing

Asaad al-Nsasrah was among the responders in the convoy that night. His body was not found with the others. Days after the ambush, the Red Crescent confirmed he had been taken into Israeli custody, describing it as a “forcible abduction.”

For Nafiza and her six children, that piece of news brought mixed emotions. “We felt a little relieved but not completely,” she said. “Because detainees often face torture. So we are still afraid.”

Before the Red Crescent could confirm Asaad’s detention, the family had grown increasingly anxious. “We heard some ambulances had been surrounded by the army, so we called because Asaad hadn’t come back from his shift,” Nafiza recalled. “They told us he had been surrounded but didn’t know what happened next.”

Israeli response under scrutiny

Video footage recorded by one of the medics before his death shows the ambulances with emergency lights flashing, directly contradicting the Israeli military’s claim that their soldiers believed they were engaging with terrorists.

When asked by AFP for clarification, the Israeli army referred to a previous statement. In it, they said Chief of General Staff Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir had ordered a full investigation into the events of March 23. No further updates on the investigation’s status have been made public.

The UN and international human rights groups have condemned the incident. The Red Crescent accused Israeli forces of deliberately targeting the upper bodies of the medics, asserting that the intent was to kill. For many, this ambush is emblematic of the broader disregard for humanitarian protections in the ongoing conflict.

Families in limbo

While much of the world moves on from the headlines, Nafiza and her family remain trapped in a different kind of limbo—one without closure, answers, or justice.

They have been living in a tent in Khan Yunis since May last year, displaced by the war. Like many Palestinians in Gaza, they endure not just the daily threat of violence but the psychological toll of disappearance and indefinite detention.

“I call on the international community to help us get any information on Asaad al-Nsasrah,” Nafiza said. “I want to know his health condition. I want to be allowed to visit him—or to see him released.”

Her plea is not just for her husband, but for hundreds of other Palestinian families living under similar circumstances, whose loved ones vanish in military operations with no legal recourse or access to information.

Global reactions and legal implications

The March 23 killings and the alleged abduction of a medic from a marked ambulance convoy strike at the heart of international humanitarian law. Medical personnel are protected under the Geneva Conventions. Ambulances bearing clear insignia are not to be treated as legitimate military targets.

The fact that the ambulances had their emergency lights flashing raises serious legal and moral concerns. While the Israeli military said soldiers believed they were encountering armed militants, the video evidence challenges that claim.

Several rights organizations are now calling for independent investigations, including the International Committee of the Red Cross and groups affiliated with the United Nations. However, no formal international legal process has been initiated yet.

The war's wider toll on Gaza’s healthcare system

This Israeli military ambush kills medics in Rafah at a time when Gaza’s medical infrastructure is collapsing. Hospitals have been targeted, paramedics killed, and medical supplies restricted. Every medic counts in a region where the injured far outnumber those who can care for them.

The death of 15 medical personnel in a single night not only robs families of loved ones but also deprives entire communities of emergency services. With each medic killed or detained, the healthcare system—already at breaking point—takes another devastating blow.

Detainees held in secrecy

Asaad’s case also highlights another critical issue: the lack of transparency surrounding Palestinian detainees held by Israel. Families are rarely notified of the whereabouts or legal status of those detained during military operations. In many cases, even humanitarian organizations struggle to gain access or information.

Under international law, detainees are entitled to legal representation, visits from family, and information about their health and detention conditions. But in conflict zones like Gaza, those rights are often suspended in practice if not in law.

A call for accountability

For Nafiza al-Nsasrah and thousands of others, this is not just a story about war. It is a personal crisis, a daily torment, and a plea for answers in a system that offers few.

As the investigation drags on without transparency, and as global leaders remain mostly silent, the pressure continues to mount for meaningful accountability. That pressure must come not only from human rights organizations but also from ordinary citizens around the world, who believe that even in war, there must be rules.

Because when an Israeli military ambush kills medics, when a man like Asaad can disappear while trying to save lives, the line between combat and crime begins to blur. And for those left behind, like Nafiza, the pain endures long after the last shot is fired.