Gaza Medic Missing Since Israeli Attack Is in Israeli Custody, Palestinian Group Says
A Gaza paramedic for the Palestine Red Crescent Society who has been missing since Israeli forces ambushed a group of ambulances and other aid vehicles in late March is in Israeli custody, the Red Crescent and the International Committee of the Red Cross said on Sunday.Israeli forces killed 15 other rescue and aid workers in the same attack, buried their bodies in a mass grave and crushed their ambulances, their fire truck and a United Nations vehicle — actions that have drawn international condemnation and scrutiny.Witnesses have said that Asaad al-Nasasra, 47, the paramedic who disappeared after the March 23 attack, survived but was detained and taken away by Israeli soldiers.But there had been no official word of his whereabouts until Sunday, when the Red Crescent said the I.C.R.C.
had notified it that he was being held by Israel.The Red Cross said in a statement that it had received information that Mr.al-Nasasra was being held “in an Israeli place of detention.”Asked for comment, the Israeli military replied with a statement that it had released last week saying that it was still investigating the attack.
It has said it will not comment further until the investigation is complete.The Israeli military has offered changing explanations for why its troops fired on the emergency vehicles, first saying that they had been “advancing suspiciously” without their lights on until a video of the attack contradicted that account.It initially said nine of those killed had been operatives from Hamas or Palestinian Islamic Jihad, another militant group, before saying, without providing evidence, that six operatives were killed in the attack.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.
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