Israel’s Lawless Assaults On Civilians, Health Care Workers Endangers The World
April 4, 2025–On March 23, the Israeli military executed 15 paramedics and ambulance workers who were supposed to be protected from warfare under international law. After the Israeli military killed them, it denied access to the site for days. When Red Crescent workers the finally gained access reached the area, they found a mass grave of the 15 bodies along with the mangled remains of their ambulances and fire engine. Some of the bodies were found with their hands and feet tied.
Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the vehicles were “uncoordinated vehicles were advancing suspiciously.”
A lone survivor said the Israeli military shot directly at the UN Red Crescent vehicles. The ambulances had been clearly marked with their lights on. Medics have special protections under the Geneva Conventions. The Israeli military doesn’t care. It sees itself as being above the law. This isn’t the first incident. There’s a long list of incidents. Remember, the workers who went to save Hind Rajab had coordinated their movements with the IDF before the IDF murdered them.
Israel has engaged in a full onslaught against the health care sector, attacking hospitals multiple times, making most of them inoperable. Doctors and their families are targeted for assassination. Many are taken hostage. The World Health Organization says Israel detained about 300 medical staff. In Israeli prisons, they undergo torture, beatings, starvation, sexual violence, and humiliation.
As The Guardian Editorial Team asserts, Donald Trump has emboldened all those who view rules within the international system as optional. But he is not alone. Joe Biden preceded him, giving Israel a free pass to violate international laws meant to protect civilians from collective punishment and medics and journalists from persecution.
Meanwhile, the collective punishment continues. It’s in the interest of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to keep it going. The prime minister is facing corruption charges that could land him in prison for a long time. The war gives him an excuse to avoid the trial.
“The prime minister’s political survival remains linked to an endless war, to the despair of the families of the remaining Israeli hostages, as well as Palestinians,” The Guardian writes.
The Geneva Conventions failed to protect us from ourselves, our military allies, the lobbyists who wage influence over our political system, and modern-day warfare. The order that kept us safe from the lowest human instincts is broken.
Sources:
A BBC investigative report
Editorial in The Guardian
