The bodies of eight Palestine Red Crescent medics who were caught in crossfire in Gaza over a week ago have been recovered, though a ninth worker remains unaccounted for, according to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).

In a statement late on Sunday, the ICRC expressed its shock and dismay over the deaths, saying, “Their bodies were identified today and have been recovered for dignified burial. These staff and volunteers were risking their own lives to provide support to others.”

In addition, the Palestine Red Crescent confirmed the recovery of the bodies of six civil defence members and one UN employee from the same area, alleging that Israeli forces had targeted the workers. The ICRC statement did not assign blame for the attack.

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies noted that one worker from the nine-member Red Crescent group, missing since March 23, has yet to be located. The IFRC described the incident as the most deadly attack on Red Cross personnel since 2017.

The Israeli military reported on Monday that an inquiry found that on March 23, troops opened fire on a group of vehicles, including ambulances and fire trucks, as they approached an unsecured position without headlights or emergency signals. The military statement added that several members of Hamas and Islamic Jihad were killed during the confrontation and condemned what it called the repeated use of civilian infrastructure by terrorist organizations. However, it did not comment directly on the deaths of the humanitarian workers.