Five members of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies have been killed since the start of the war between Hamas and Israel, four of them today, when the ambulances they were traveling in were hit.

In its statement the Federation, the world’s largest humanitarian organization with more than 16 million volunteers, confirmed the death of five of its members “due to hostilities in Israel and the Gaza Strip”.

The Geneva-based organization called for civilians and medical personnel to be protected.

“Today Wednesday, in two separate incidents, ambulances were hit, killing four Palestinian Red Crescent volunteers who were helping people in need. “Earlier on Saturday, an ambulance driver of Magen David Adom (the Israeli equivalent of the Red Cross) in Israel was killed while driving an ambulance to attend to the injured,” the organization said.

“The International Federation reiterates its appeal to all parties to comply with their obligations arising from international humanitarian law. This is non-negotiable. Civilians, health workers, medical facilities and civilian infrastructure should be protected at all times. They are not a target,” he added.