RAMALLAH, Palestine

Four Palestinian paramedics in the Gaza Strip were killed on Wednesday, at least three of them by a direct Israeli airstrikes on their ambulance, the Palestinian Red Crescent Society said.

The aid group said in a statement that Israeli forces "directly targeted an ambulance belonging to it in the Abraj al-Nada area in northern Gaza."

The statement said the bombing "led to the killing of 3 paramedics: Khalil Al-Sharif, Yousry Al-Masry, and Ahmed Dahman."

In a later statement, the group said, “Paramedic Hatem Awad was martyred while performing his humanitarian duty and after obtaining a green light to go to the location at the Karni crossing, in eastern Gaza,” without giving further details.

There was no immediate Israeli comment on the targeting of the ambulance or the deaths of the paramedics.

In a dramatic escalation of Mideast tensions, Israeli forces have launched a sustained and forceful military campaign against the Gaza Strip, a response to a military offensive by the Palestinian group Hamas in Israeli territories.

The conflict began on Saturday when Hamas initiated Operation Al-Aqsa Flood against Israel, a multi-pronged surprise attack including a barrage of rocket launches and infiltrations into Israel via land, sea, and air, which Hamas said was in retaliation for the storming of the Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied East Jerusalem and Israeli settlers’ growing violence against Palestinians.

In response to Hamas' actions, the Israeli military launched Operation Swords of Iron against Hamas targets within the Gaza Strip. Israel's response has extended into cutting water and electricity supplies to Gaza, further worsening the living conditions in an area that has reeled under a crippling siege since 2007.