The Israeli military has revised its explanation for the killing of 15 emergency medics in Gaza on March 23, after video evidence contradicted its initial claim. The original statement said Israeli forces fired at the ambulances because they were “advancing suspiciously” without headlights or emergency signals. However, footage recovered from a slain paramedic’s phone shows otherwise.
The video clearly shows marked Red Crescent and Civil Defense vehicles with flashing emergency lights driving cautiously to assist a previously attacked ambulance in Tel al-Sultan, Rafah. As medics approached the scene, gunfire erupted, lasting more than five minutes. Eight Red Crescent workers, six Civil Defense members, and a UN staffer were killed. A surviving medic confirmed the video’s authenticity to the Associated Press.
The Palestinian Red Crescent Society said Israeli bulldozers later buried the victims and their vehicles in a mass grave, which UN workers reached a week later. The organization’s vice president, Marwan Jilani, said the phone containing the video was discovered on one of the medics’ bodies. The footage was shown to the UN Security Council.
A survivor, Munzer Abed, described being beaten, stripped, and interrogated by Israeli soldiers after surviving the attack. He said Israeli forces opened fire on additional ambulances as they arrived. Abed witnessed two Civil Defense vehicles being attacked before he was forced to the ground at gunpoint.
The Israeli military now says its initial account was “mistaken” and that the incident is under investigation. They also claimed to have found and killed a Hamas member, Mohammed Amin Shobaki, and eight other militants at the site — but provided no evidence. None of the medics killed bore that name, and the identities of the alleged militants remain unverified.
UN official Jonathan Whittall refuted Israel’s claims, affirming the medics were legitimate responders known to international staff. “They were buried in their uniforms with their gloves on. They were ready to save lives,” he said.
Calls for an independent investigation are growing, with the Red Crescent expressing mistrust in the Israeli army’s internal probes. One medic, Assaad al-Nassasra, remains missing, last seen being led away by Israeli troops.
Source: https://www.arabnews.com/node/2596083/middle-east