Importance Score: 78 / 100 🔴
Israeli Military Revises Account of Palestinian Medics’ Killing in Gaza
The Israeli military has revised its account regarding the killing of 15 Palestinian medics by its forces in the Gaza Strip last month. This reversal follows the emergence of phone video footage that refutes the military’s initial assertion that the medics’ vehicles lacked emergency signals when troops opened fire.
Initial Claim and Contradiction
Initially, the military stated that forces opened fire because the vehicles were “advancing suspiciously” towards troops without headlights or emergency signals activated. However, an Israeli military official, speaking anonymously in accordance with regulations, acknowledged on Saturday that this account was “inaccurate”.
Video Evidence Emerges
The nearly seven-minute video, released by the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) on Saturday and reportedly recovered from the phone of Rifat Radwan, one of the deceased medics, seems to have been recorded from within a moving vehicle. The footage depicts a red fire engine and clearly identifiable ambulances traveling at night, utilizing both headlights and flashing emergency lights.
The vehicles halted beside another vehicle that had veered off the road. As two individuals exited to inspect the stopped vehicle, gunfire erupted, and the video feed abruptly ended.
Details of the Incident
Fifteen Palestinian paramedics and rescue workers, including at least one UN staff member, were killed in the Rafah incident on March 23. The UN reports that Israeli forces allegedly shot the men “one by one” before burying them in a mass grave.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) stated that an investigation into the incident is ongoing. They affirmed that “all claims,” including the circulated documentation, “will be thoroughly and deeply examined to ascertain the sequence of events and the handling of the situation.
Discrepancy in Initial Report
The official clarified that the initial report from the field omitted any mention of lights. However, investigators are now scrutinizing “operational information” to determine if this omission resulted from an error in the initial reporting.
“Our current understanding indicates that the individual providing the initial account was mistaken. We are actively investigating the reasons behind this discrepancy,” the official stated.
PRCS Account and Missing Personnel
According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), personnel from the PRCS and civil defense were engaged in a mission to rescue colleagues previously wounded when their clearly marked vehicles encountered heavy Israeli fire in Rafah‘s Tel al-Sultan district. A Red Crescent official in Gaza reported evidence suggesting that at least one individual was detained and subsequently killed, as one body was discovered with bound hands.
The shootings occurred a day after the renewed Israeli offensive commenced near the Egyptian border, following the collapse of a two-month ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. Another Red Crescent worker involved in the mission, Assad al-Nassasra, remains missing, prompting the organization to request information regarding his whereabouts from the Israeli military.
Survivor Testimony
Munther Abed, a survivor and Palestinian Red Crescent paramedic, testified that he witnessed al-Nassasra being led away blindfolded by Israeli soldiers.
The 27-year-old volunteer, who was detained for several hours and then released, was positioned in the rear of the leading ambulance en route to the site of an airstrike in Rafah’s Hashashin district before dawn on March 23, when they encountered intense Israeli fire. While his two Red Crescent colleagues in the front of the ambulance were killed, he survived by taking cover on the vehicle floor. “The door opened, and there they were – Israeli special forces in military uniforms, armed with rifles, green lasers, and night-vision goggles,” Abed recounted. “They dragged me out of the ambulance, forcing me face-down to prevent me from seeing what had befallen my colleagues.”
Calls for Inquiry
Both the UN and the Palestinian Red Crescent have called for an independent inquiry into the killing of the paramedics.
Allegations of Militant Affiliations
Israeli media outlets, citing military briefings, have reported that troops identified at least six of the 15 deceased as members of militant groups and claimed to have killed a Hamas figure named Mohammed Amin Shobaki.
None of the 15 killed medics match that name, and no additional bodies have been reported at the location. The official declined to offer evidence or specifics regarding the identification process, citing a reluctance to disclose classified information.
“According to our intelligence, there were terrorists present, but this investigation is not over,” the official stated to reporters.
Abed, a 10-year volunteer, firmly asserted that there were no militants present within the ambulances.
Jonathan Whittall, interim head of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Gaza, refuted allegations that the medics were Hamas militants. He stated that staff had previously collaborated with the same paramedic crews in patient evacuations and other operations. “These are paramedic crews I have personally encountered before,” he said. “They were buried in their uniforms, wearing their gloves. They were prepared to save lives.”
Burial of Bodies and Access Denial
The official indicated that troops notified the UN about the incident on the same day and initially covered the bodies with camouflage netting pending recovery. However, they subsequently buried the bodies when the UN did not promptly collect them.
The UN confirmed last week that they were informed of the bodies’ location but that access denied by Israel for several days. According to the UN, the bodies were buried alongside their damaged vehicles – clearly marked ambulances, a fire truck, and a UN car.