Daijiworld Media Network - Gaza
Gaza, Apr 11: “My heart and soul died when Rifaat was killed,” says Hajjah Umm Mohammed, mother of 23-year-old Palestinian paramedic Rifaat Radwan, who was among 15 emergency workers shot dead by Israeli troops near Rafah in southern Gaza last month. Her voice trembles as she recalls her son’s final mission with the Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) before he was gunned down on March 23 while riding in a marked ambulance.
The convoy of emergency vehicles had reportedly been dispatched to assist wounded civilians in an area classified as ‘green’ a designation implying safety and accessibility for medical teams. Video footage recovered from Rifaat’s phone showed the ambulances’ emergency lights were clearly on, challenging initial Israeli military claims that the convoy had approached without lights, appearing “suspicious.”
“Forgive me, mother... this is the path I chose to help people,” Rifaat says in the haunting video, moments before gunfire erupts. Umm Mohammed believes he knew he would not return. “I entrusted Rifaat to God every time he went to work,” she says, describing his bravery and dedication to humanitarian service across Gaza.
Rifaat had been volunteering with the PRCS since the start of the Israeli offensive following Hamas’s October 7 attack. According to his mother, he had even helped transfer wounded patients through the Rafah border into Egypt. On the day of his death, he had responded to a call about casualties from an Israeli airstrike.
His body, along with those of his colleagues, was only discovered a week later, buried in a shallow grave. “Instead of celebrating Eid al-Fitr with Rifaat, we went to collect his body,” says Umm Mohammed. “It was so decomposed they wouldn’t let me see it.”
The Israeli military later admitted its initial account was “mistaken.” An official stated the troops had opened fire based on a prior encounter in the area and claimed—without evidence—that six of the victims were Hamas operatives. The PRCS categorically rejected the accusation, demanding an independent international investigation. “We are not targets,” said PRCS spokeswoman Nebal Farsakh. “Medical personnel must be protected under international law. What happened was a full-fledged war crime.”
Survivor Munther Abed, a fellow medic in Rifaat’s ambulance, described the horror of the ambush. “I dropped to the floor and only heard the death gasps of my colleagues,” he said tearfully. Abed was later detained, allegedly beaten and interrogated for 15 hours. “They tortured me... I wished I had died from the horror of what I saw.”
The PRCS said the area was not classified as a “red zone” requiring coordination and that the forensic reports indicated multiple gunshot wounds to the upper bodies of the victims, supporting claims of deliberate targeting. The IDF has said its Chief of Staff has ordered a deeper investigation into the matter.
As international pressure mounts, PRCS continues to urge for justice. “We have lost 27 colleagues so far each one killed while wearing the Red Crescent emblem,” said Farsakh. “Without accountability, the killing will go on.”
The Gaza conflict, ignited by the Hamas-led October 7 attacks that left 1,200 Israelis dead and 251 hostages taken, has since escalated dramatically. Over 50,750 Palestinians have been killed, according to Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry. A ceasefire deal announced in January collapsed in March, with 59 hostages still believed held in Gaza.
For Umm Mohammed, no inquiry can bring back her son, but she continues to demand answers. “He was my only support… my beautiful boy. I just want the world to know he was a hero.”