Red Crescent: The fate of 9 paramedics remains unknown for the third day after they were besieged in Rafah.

The Palestinian Red Crescent Society said Tuesday that the fate of nine ambulance crews remains unknown for the third day after they were "besieged and targeted" west of Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, where the Israeli army has been conducting a military operation since March 23.

The association added in a statement: "For the third consecutive day, the fate of nine Palestinian Red Crescent ambulance crews remains unknown after they were besieged and targeted by the occupation forces in Rafah."

She stressed that Israel continues to reject "all attempts to coordinate through international organizations for the rescue team to reach the site."

It expressed its grave concern for the safety of its crews, holding Israel fully responsible for their fate.

On Sunday, the association announced in a statement that it had lost contact with its crews west of Rafah after the army surrounded four Red Crescent ambulances and their crews as they were heading to the scene to rescue the wounded.

In the statement, it said that a number of its paramedics were injured in an Israeli attack, but their fate is still unknown.

On the same day, the Palestinian Civil Defense lost contact with its crew, who had gone out to rescue a Red Crescent crew west of Rafah, according to a statement issued at the time.

On Sunday, the Israeli army launched an air and ground operation against the Tel al-Sultan neighborhood in Rafah, killing and wounding Palestinian civilians and besieging thousands of them.

Hours later, the army announced in a statement that it had completed the encirclement of Tel Sultan, deepening its control and "expanding the security buffer zone" in the southern Gaza Strip.

The security zone in Rafah includes the Philadelphi Corridor, which runs along the border with Egypt and is controlled by Israel. Israel refused to withdraw from it as part of the ceasefire agreement that came into effect on January 19, as well as a 500-700-meter-deep area on the Palestinian side.

It is noteworthy that the army took full control of this axis on June 7, 2024, as announced at the time.

Since resuming its genocide on March 18 and continuing until Monday, Israel has killed 730 Palestinians and injured 1,367 others, most of them children and women, according to the Gaza Ministry of Health.

The United Nations said nearly 124,000 people were displaced again after Israel resumed its attacks on the Gaza Strip and issued "evacuation orders."

With full American support, Israel has been committing genocide in Gaza since October 7, 2023, leaving more than 163,000 Palestinians dead and wounded, most of them children and women, and more than 14,000 missing.

This escalation, which Tel Aviv said was fully coordinated with Washington, represents the most significant violation of the Gaza ceasefire agreement, the second phase of which Israel refrained from implementing after the first phase expired in early March.

Despite Hamas's commitment to the terms of the agreement, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court, refused to initiate the second phase in response to pressure from extremists within his government.

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