Israeli army changes initial account of Gaza medics killings

In late March, 15 paramedics and emergency responders were shot dead while on a rescue mission and their bodies were discovered in a shallow grave a week later by officials from the United Nations and the Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS).

Initially, the military claimed that soldiers opened fire on vehicles approaching their position in the dark without emergency lights or markings, deeming them “suspicious”. The Israeli military claimed the PRCS vehicles were being used by Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad.

However, video footage recovered from the mobile phone of one of the victims and released by the PRCS contradicted this account. The video showed emergency workers in uniform, operating clearly marked ambulances and fire trucks with lights on, being fired upon by soldiers.

Red Crescent and UN officials have said 17 paramedics and emergency workers had been dispatched to respond to reports of injuries from Israeli air strikes when they came under fire.

The rescuers included eight paramedics from the PRCS, six members of the Palestinian Civil Defence search-and-rescue teams, and one UN staff member. Another rescuer remains unaccounted for.

The sole survivor, Palestinian Red Crescent paramedic Munther Abed, also confirmed that soldiers fired on clearly marked emergency response vehicles.

An Israeli military official said on Saturday that investigators are analysing the video, with conclusions expected to be presented to commanders on Sunday.

The official stated the initial report had not mentioned lights on the vehicles and suggested that the person providing the first account may have made an error.

“What we understand currently is the person who gave the initial account is mistaken. We’re trying to understand why,” he added.

The Palestinian health ministry said Israeli forces had executed the medics, some of whom were handcuffed, before burying them underneath their crushed ambulances.

Mahmoud Basal, spokesperson for the Palestinian Civil Defence, stated last week that at least one of them had his legs bound, another was decapitated and a third topless.

The killings are the single deadliest attack on Red Cross/Red Crescent workers anywhere in the world since 2017, according to the International Committee of the Red Cross. The UN and the Palestinian Red Crescent have called for an independent investigation into the killings.

The UN announced last week that available information suggests one team was killed by Israeli forces, and other emergency and aid crews were killed one after the other over several hours as they searched for their missing colleagues.