Asaad Al-Mansoura

Their life

Asaad Al-Mansoura, a 39-year-old Palestinian paramedic with the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS), vanished into the grim archive of Gaza's "disappeared" after Israeli forces detained him during their March 23, 2024 assault on a medical convoy in Rafah. A veteran of 15 years in Gaza's trauma wards and bombed-out streets, Al-Mansoura had cheated death three times before—narrowly surviving previous attacks on his ambulances—only to meet his likely fate in Tal al-Sultan, where eyewitnesses last saw him kneeling blindfolded in the sand, his PRCS uniform stripped away by Israeli commandos

Asaad Al-Mansoura, a 39-year-old Palestinian paramedic with the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS), vanished into the grim archive of Gaza's "disappeared" after Israeli forces detained him during their March 23, 2024 assault on a medical convoy in Rafah. A veteran of 15 years in Gaza's trauma wards and bombed-out streets, Al-Mansoura had cheated death three times before—narrowly surviving previous attacks on his ambulances—only to meet his likely fate in Tal al-Sultan, where eyewitnesses last saw him kneeling blindfolded in the sand, his PRCS uniform stripped away by Israeli commandos. Known among colleagues for carrying infants from rubble during the 2014 war, this soft-spoken father of four became one of 40+ medical workers Israel has "disappeared" since October 2023, his case standing out due to the chilling mobile footage that captured his final moments alive. Though the Israeli military refuses to acknowledge detaining him, forensic teams later uncovered mass graves containing handcuffed medics just meters from where he was taken—a silent testament to what the UN now calls "a systematic campaign to eliminate Gaza's medical witnesses." His family's April 2024 funeral without a body, featuring an empty stretcher draped in his bloodstained PRCS vest, drew thousands of mourners through Rafah's ruins, while his name now heads the ICC's docket of potential medical-targeting war crimes. As Gaza's hospitals crumble, Al-Mansoura's unfinished notebooks—filled with casualty lists the world never saw—remain buried under rubble, much like the truth he died to preserve.

How they died

ambulance attack

March 23 ambulance attack near Rafah

A plea from the family

The family of the missing paramedic has become a haunting voice in Gaza’s humanitarian crisis, refusing to let his disappearance be forgotten. 1. His Wife, Samira Al-Mansoura Public Statements: "They took my husband in his medical uniform. Where is the law that protects those who protect lives?" Submitted a video plea to the UN showing Asaad’s last known moments (blurred footage of his detention). Demands access to Israeli detention centers: "If he’s dead, show us his body. If he’s alive, let the Red Cross see him." 2. His Father, Ibrahim Al-Mansoura Actions: Led a 40-day sit-in outside PRCS headquarters with other families of missing medics. Filed a petition with the International Criminal Court (ICC) using Asaad’s case to highlight Israel’s systematic targeting of medical personnel. 3. Their Children (Ages 5–14) Symbolic Gestures: The eldest daughter, Mariam (14), wears his bloodstained PRCS badge to school. Created a makeshift memorial in their Rafah tent with his unwashed scrubs and stethoscope.

Why we remember them

This record exists so that Asaad Al-Mansoura, and all who are named in this archive, are never reduced to a number.

References & sources