IDF says forces fired at Red Cross building due to incorrect identification

According to the IDF, troops on the ground thought they saw suspicious figures near the building and felt they were endangered.

Red Cross vehicles pictured in the Gaza Strip in a previous hostage exchange. (photo credit: REUTERS/Hatem Khaled)
Red Cross vehicles pictured in the Gaza Strip in a previous hostage exchange.
(photo credit: REUTERS/Hatem Khaled)

The IDF on Monday night admitted to firing mistakenly on an International Red Cross facility in Rafah in the Gaza Strip.

The ICRC first reported the incident around 5:00 p.m.

It noted that its building is well identified both physically on the ground and also by pre-planning with IDF commanders.

According to the IDF admission, sent out around 8:30 p.m., the troops on the ground thought they saw suspicious figures in the vicinity of the building and felt they were endangered.

The IDF did not specify how or why they felt endangered and, in fact, acknowledged that the soldiers had made a mistaken identification, such that it is likely that the "suspicious" persons from the ICRC were unarmed.

 IDF troopers in the Tel Sultan area of Rafah in the Gaza Strip, March 23, 2025. (credit: IDF SPOKESPERSON'S UNIT)Enlrage image
IDF troopers in the Tel Sultan area of Rafah in the Gaza Strip, March 23, 2025. (credit: IDF SPOKESPERSON'S UNIT)

Further, despite the IDF commander level knowing that the facility is marked as an ICRC facility, the IDF spokesperson's office said that the soldiers on the ground, for some reason, did not have this information.

This means that either those soldiers failed to solicit necessary humanitarian facilities information or some of their commanders neglected to provide them with that information.

IDF investigating the incident

The military said that the incident is being probed.

Both the ICRC and the IDF noted that no one had been harmed, but the ICRC said that the facility had been damaged by shelling.