Humanitarian workers coming to the aid of civilians across the Middle East have been killed by missile and drone strikes, according international aid organisations.
In a joint statement issued on Saturday, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) and International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) slammed countries for not taking care to avoid workers during the conflict.
“Since hostilities erupted across the Middle East, humanitarian and medical personnel are being caught in the line of fire, putting at risk the lifelines civilians depend on to survive,” IFRC President, Kate Forbes, and ICRC President, Mirjana Spoljaric, said.
“If this pattern continues, we fear we will soon be grieving more colleagues killed while trying to save lives.”
They added those fears are “already becoming a reality” in less than two weeks after US-Israeli strikes on Iran.
Among the tens of thousands of casualties reported is Youssef Assaf, a Lebanese Red Cross volunteer who was killed in an Israeli airstrike.
“In Iran, Iranian Red Crescent Society staff and volunteers suffered casualties while helping civilians amidst hostilities,” Forbes and Spoljaric said.
“Despite the dangers, Red Cross and Red Crescent staff and volunteers, as well as those of Magen David Adom in Israel, continue to work across the region at great personal risk to support those in need.”
They noted that despite humanitarian personnel are protected under international law, they are regularly “killed, injured, kidnapped or detained while trying to reach people in need”.
“We have called for it before, and we call for it again: states and parties to conflict must take immediate concrete steps to protect those who risk everything to save lives,” Forbes and Spoljaric said.
“When humanitarian workers are protected, so is our shared humanity.
“The lives of our teams and those they serve, depend on it.”
Mourners carry the coffin of Youssef Assaf, a Lebanese Red Cross volunteer who was killed in an Israeli airstrike. Credit: AP