In a statement on Telegram, Hamas condemned “in the strongest terms the heinous crime committed” in the Tel al-Sultan neighbourhood of Rafah in southern Gaza, Al Jazeera reports.

Hamas reminded that the bodies of six civil defence crews and eight paramedics from the Palestinian Red Crescent Society, who had been missing for days, were found in the area.

“They were found handcuffed and buried in a single grave,” the group said.

It added: “This crime … confirms that we are facing a criminal, sadistic enemy, devoid of all human values ​​and in contempt of international law, international humanitarian law, and the Geneva Conventions, which guarantee the protection of medical relief and civil defence personnel during conflict.”