The Israeli military has provided new information that alters its original account regarding the fatal shooting of 15 emergency workers near Rafah, a city in southern Gaza, last month. Investigators are currently still assessing the evidence.
These 15 paramedics and emergency responders were killed on March 23 and later buried in a shallow grave, where their remains were discovered a week after by officials from the United Nations and the Palestinian Red Crescent. Another individual remains unaccounted for.
Initially, the Israeli military claimed that soldiers had fired upon vehicles that approached their location “suspiciously,” without lights or identifying markings during the night.
The military asserted that nine militants from Hamas and Islamic Jihad were killed while traveling in Palestinian Red Crescent vehicles.
However, footage retrieved from the mobile phone of one of the deceased, which was released by the Palestinian Red Crescent, depicted emergency workers in their uniforms and clearly marked ambulances and fire trucks with their lights activated being shot at by soldiers.
The only known survivor from the incident, paramedic Munther Abed of the Palestinian Red Crescent, confirmed that he witnessed soldiers opening fire on clearly marked emergency response vehicles.
An Israeli military spokesperson stated that investigators are reviewing the video evidence and conclusions will soon be reported to army commanders.
The spokesperson noted that the initial field report did not mention lights being on and that investigators are analyzing “operational information” to determine whether this omission was an error by the reporting individual.
“What we currently understand is that the person who provided the initial account is mistaken. We are working to uncover the reasons behind this,” he stated.
Reports from Israeli media, informed by the military, indicated that troops had identified at least six of the deceased as being affiliated with militant groups.
Nevertheless, the official declined to disclose any evidence or detailed reasoning behind these identifications, citing the need to withhold classified information.
“According to our intelligence, there were terrorists present, but this investigation is ongoing,” he told reporters during the briefing last night.
The UN and the Palestinian Red Cross have called for an independent investigation into the killings of the paramedics.
Officials from the Red Crescent indicated that a total of 17 paramedics and emergency workers from their organization, alongside the Civil Emergency Service and the UN, had been dispatched to attend to reports of injuries stemming from Israeli airstrikes.
In addition to Mr. Abed, who was detained for several hours before his release, another worker remains missing.
The tragic deaths of these aid workers have ignited widespread international condemnation.
Last week, the UN reported that available information suggested one team was killed by Israeli forces, and other emergency response and aid teams were targeted consecutively over several hours as they searched for their missing colleagues.
“We demand justice for the victims and insist that all those responsible face accountability,” said Nebal Farsakh, spokesperson for the Palestinian Red Crescent. “Without accountability, such crimes will persist.”
The military official revealed initial findings showing that troops had fired upon a vehicle around 4 a.m., resulting in the deaths of two individuals from the Hamas internal security forces, while taking another individual prisoner who reportedly confessed under interrogation to being part of Hamas.
As time passed, multiple vehicles traveled along the road, and at approximately 6 a.m., the military was alerted via aerial surveillance about a suspicious group of vehicles approaching.
“They interpreted this as a situation akin to what had occurred at 4 a.m., leading them to open fire,” the official remarked.
He mentioned that aerial surveillance footage confirmed the troops were positioned at a distance when they discharged their weapons and denied allegations that soldiers had handcuffed some paramedics before shooting them at close range.
“The fire was initiated from a distance, not close range. There was no mistreatment of the individuals involved,” he asserted.
According to the official, the soldiers did approach the group they had shot and identified some of them as militants. However, he did not clarify what evidence led to this determination.
“To them, it was an encounter with terrorists, which they viewed as a successful operation,” he added.
The troops informed the UN about the incident the same day and initially concealed the bodies with camouflage netting until they could be retrieved.
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“There was no attempt to conceal the incident by the IDF; in fact, they promptly alerted the UN,” he stated.
When the UN did not arrive immediately to retrieve the bodies, the soldiers covered them with sand to prevent animal interference, as described by the official.
The vehicles were cleared from the road using a heavy engineering vehicle, but the official could not explain the reasons behind the vehicles being crushed and then buried.
UN expresses ‘outrage over the brutality of the deaths’
A spokesperson for the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) expressed their “outrage over the brutality of the deaths.”
In a statement, the spokesperson said: “We mourn our colleagues’ loss and are appalled by the circumstances leading to their deaths.”
“Since October 2023, at least 408 aid workers, including 290 UN staff members, have lost their lives in Gaza, both on and off duty.”
“Attacks against emergency response personnel and aid workers are unacceptable. Such deplorable acts necessitate accountability.”
“We require assurance from Israel that it is taking measures to protect civilians and minimize harm. This must include well-communicated protocols to ensure that frontline staff can operate safely.”
This comes as Gaza’s civil defense agency reported that Israeli airstrikes across the Palestinian territory have resulted in the deaths of at least 44 individuals and left dozens more injured.
According to Mahmud Bassal, spokesperson for Gaza’s civil defense agency, “The death toll due to Israeli airstrikes since dawn today stands at no less than 44, with 21 occurring in Khan Younis,” the main city in southern Gaza.
In retaliation for what Hamas described as Israeli “massacres” against civilians in Gaza, the group has claimed to have launched a barrage of rockets aimed at cities in southern Israel.
The Israeli military reported that about ten projectiles were fired, with most being successfully intercepted. Channel 12 in Israel reported a direct hit in the southern city of Ashkelon.
Israeli emergency services stated that they are treating one victim for shrapnel injuries and that teams are responding to the locations where rockets have landed. Footage released by Israeli emergency services shows shattered car windows and debris scattered across city streets.
