The Palestinian Red Crescent Association (PRCS) says Palestinian paramedics who survived a fatal Israeli attack on a group of first responders in southern Gaza have been released from Israeli detention last month.
Ambulance driver Assad al-Nassasra was among at least 10 Palestinian detainees released in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, PRCS said.
The agency shared footage on social media showing a visibly emotional Al Nasasra wearing a bright red PRCS jacket and showing her acceptance of a colleague 37 days after Israeli detention.
His exact location was unknown after Israeli forces fired fire on a Palestinian first responder in the Rafa area of southern Gaza on March 23.
“He was arrested while fulfilling his humanitarian duties during the massacre of medical teams in the Tel Sultan area of Rafa,” PRCS said.
The first moment of reunion with his teammate after the arrival of his colleague Asaad Al-Nsasrah and his release today after 37 days of detention by the occupying forces. He was arrested over the phone while fulfilling his humanitarian duties during a medical team massacre…pic.twitter.com/tzghbzhejl
– PRCS (@Palestinercs) April 29, 2025
The PRCS reported last month that Israeli forces fired at Medic. Medic was driving in ambulances to assist Palestinians injured at the site of the previous Israeli attack.
The agency said it had lost contact with the team, and Israeli forces blocked access to the incident’s site.
When UN and Palestinian officials were able to arrive in the area a week later, they found bulldozer ambulances and mass graves where bodies were buried.
Eight PRCS workers were killed along with six members of the Palestinian civil defense team and one UN employee, according to the PRCS.
“This massacre of our team is a tragedy not only for us at the Palestinian Red Crescent Association, but for humanitarian work and humanity,” the agency said in a statement on March 30.
Video recovering from one of the killed Medic’s mobile phones showed their final moments. They were wearing very reflective uniforms and were clearly in an identifiable rescue vehicle Shot by Israeli forces.
Amid international protests, Israeli forces announced they would investigate what happened.
Last week, the probe said it had identified a series of “special failures.” The Army said its code of ethics had not been violated and one soldier had been rejected.
The PRCS condemned the findings of Israeli military investigations and called for an independent and impartial investigation by UN agencies.
One of the two survivors
Al Nassasra, 47, is one of two people who survived the attack.
Another survivor, Munther Abed, said he saw Al Nasasra capture, tied up and taken away at the time.
According to his son Mohamed, the father of six spoke to his family when he disappeared on the night of the Israeli attack, and told them he was on his way to break his colleagues and his Ramadan quickly.
When the family tried to call him about dawn the next day, he didn’t respond, and they learned from the PRC that no one could reach him or the other paramedics.
Al Nassasra always warned his family that every time he went out on a mission he might not get it back, his son said. However, as Al Nassasra continued his work throughout the 18-month war in Gaza, Israel, the family tried not to think about it.
His colleague Ibrahim Abu al-Qas also told Al Jazeera that Al Nassasra always offers sweets to encourage children to play in a safe place rather than in the middle of the road.
Israel launched a campaign to intensify arrests during the war. At least 9,900 Palestinians are currently in detention in Israeli detention facilities, including 400 children, according to Adamier of the Palestinian Prisoner Assistance Network.
Under what is known as “control detention,” more than 3,400 people are held without trial under what is known as unpaid, and can be renewed indefinitely for six months.
Al Nassasra was released to Gaza along with 10 other detainees via Kissfim checkpoint before being sent to the hospital at Diel El Bara in central Gaza.
Report from the city, Tareq Abu Azzoum, Al Jazeera, said the released detainees were “reported tortured in a horrifying way and were in a bad physical and psychological state.
Israeli forces routinely target first responders, humanitarian workers and journalists during the fires of Gaza.
More than 52,300 Palestinians have been killed and at least 117,905 have been injured since the war began on October 7, 2023, according to Gaza’s Ministry of Health.
