Amnesty International Press Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, Jan. 29, 2008



(New York) -- Amnesty International researchers in Gaza have photographed the remains of a U.S.-made missile that killed three paramedics and a child on Jan. 4.  The human rights organization said the paramedics were killed on their way to rescue wounded and the incident was one example among others in which medical teams came under fire while carrying out their duties.

In her blog from Gaza, Amnesty International researcher Donatella Rovera wrote that emergency medical rescue workers, including doctors, paramedics and ambulance drivers, repeatedly came under fire from Israeli forces while they were carrying out their duties.

"At least seven were killed and more than 20 were injured while they were transporting or attempting to collect the wounded and the dead," Rovera wrote.

Under the Geneva Conventions, medical personnel who are searching, collecting, transporting or treating the wounded should be protected and respected in all circumstances.

"Reports from the battlefield along with  the fact finding that our team is now conducting in Gaza show clearly that the Israeli military failed to respect these provisions of international law," said Zahir Janmohamed, Amnesty International USA Middle East advocacy director.

In the Jan. 4 incident in which the paramedics were killed, a 12-year-old boy also was killed by the missile as he stood indicating to the paramedics where the wounded could be found.

Amnesty International's research team in Gaza this week went to the scene of the Jan. 4 incident with two ambulance drivers who had accompanied the paramedics and who had witnessed the attack.  There, the Amnesty International team met the child’s mother and found and photographed the remains of the U.S. missile. The label reads “guided missile, surface attack” and the U.S. is clearly marked as the weapon’s country of provenance.

The blog entry is available at Amnesty International's site:  
http://blog.amnestyusa.org/middle-east/attacks-on-ambulance-workers/

Amnesty International is a Nobel Peace Prize-winning grassroots activist organization with more than 2.2 million supporters, activists and volunteers in more than 150 countries campaigning for human rights worldwide.  The organization investigates and exposes abuses, educates and mobilizes the public, and works to protect people wherever justice, freedom, truth and dignity are denied.