“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,” it said.

Red Cross statements did not apportion blame for the attacks.

Due to safety concerns, the UN is reducing its international staff in Gaza by a third. Source: Getty / Abdallah F.s. Alattar / Anadolu

The Israeli military said on Monday that an inquiry had found that on 23 March, troops opened fire on a group of vehicles that included ambulances and fire trucks when the vehicles approached a position without prior coordination and without headlights or emergency signals.

It did not specifically respond to questions about why the bodies were retrieved beneath the sand nor why the vehicles were found crushed.