Israel has been accused of carrying out ‘summary executions’ of 15 Palestinian aid workers in the besieged Gaza Strip.
Eight Red Crescent personnel, six Civil Defense workers and a UN staffer were killed in the shooting on March 23 by troops operating in Tel al-Sultan, a district of Rafah.
An internal military investigation suggested a chain of ‘professional failures’ that led to the incident, with a deputy Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) commander sacked for his role in the deaths.
But Gaza’s Civil Defence agency have rejected the findings of the internal probe following the release of a video showing the ambulances fired upon had their lights flashing and visible logos showing they were emergency vehicles.
Israel had originally claimed that the medical vehicles did not have emergency signals on when troops opened fire, but backtracked after video footage recovered from a body camera on one medic contradicted this.
The dead personnel were found in a mass grave in southern Gaza a week after the incident.
‘The video filmed by one of the paramedics proves that the Israeli occupation’s narrative is false and demonstrates that it carried out summary executions,’ Mohammed Al-Mughair, a civil defence official, said – a day after an Israeli army probe denied any execution-style killings.
The Israeli military investigation stated that the deputy battalion commander, ‘due to poor night visibility,’ assessed that the ambulances belonged to Hamas militants.
The probe claimed there was ‘no evidence to support claims of execution or that any of the deceased were bound before or after the shooting.’
It said the Palestinians were killed due to an ‘operational misunderstanding’.
Israel said six of the aid workers killed were actually Hamas militants, but did not provide their names or give further evidence.
The Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) and the Israeli human rights organisation Breaking the Silence rejected the findings.
PRCS President Younis Al-Khatib said: ‘It is incomprehensible why the occupation soldiers buried the bodies of the paramedics in a criminal manner.’
Jonathan Whittall, a UN official in Gaza, added: ‘A lack of real accountability undermines international law and makes the world a more dangerous place.
‘Without accountability, we risk continuing to watch atrocities unfolding, and the norms designed to protect us all, eroding.’
Ahmed Dhair, the forensic pathologist in Gaza who carried out autopsies on 14 out of the 15 victims, said they were mostly killed by gunshots to the head and torso, as well as injuries caused by explosives.
He told the UK’s Guardian newspaper that he had found ‘lacerations, entry wounds from bullets, and wounds resulting from explosive injuries’, adding: ‘These were mostly concentrated in the torso area – the chest, abdomen, back, and head.’
More than 400 aid workers and over 1,300 health workers have reportedly been killed in Gaza since October 2023.
As the conflict continues Gaza has become a ‘mass grave’ for Palestinians and those helping them, medical charity Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) says, as Israel continues to prevent humanitarian aid from getting into the territory.
MSF called on Israel to ‘lift the inhumane and deadly siege’ and for all parties to restore the ceasefire.
‘Gaza has been turned into a mass grave of Palestinians and those coming to their assistance,’ said Amande Bazerolle, MSF emergency coordinator. ‘We are witnessing in real time the destruction and forced displacement of the entire population in Gaza.’
