The Israeli military has admitted “professional failures” and “breaches of orders” over the killing of 15 Palestinian medics in Gaza last month.
An investigation by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) into the incident on 23 March found the deaths of the aid workers were a result of an “operational misunderstanding”. A commanding officer is to be reprimanded and a deputy commander to be dismissed, the military said.
The International Red Cross/Red Crescent called it the deadliest attack on its personnel in eight years. Eight Red Crescent personnel, six Civil Defense workers and a UN employee were killed when Israeli forces opened fire on emergency vehicles in Tel al-Sultan, a district of the southern Gaza city of Rafah.
Footage showed the convoy of vehicles, with lights flashing and logos visible, pulling up to help an ambulance that had come under fire earlier – before the vehicles came under a barrage of gunfire that lasted more than five minutes.
Israel first claimed the medics' vehicles did not have emergency signals on when troops opened fire but later backtracked after the footage emerged from a dead medic’s phone.
The Israeli military’s investigation found the deputy battalion commander assessed that the ambulances belonged to Hamas militants “due to poor night visibility”.
The soldiers then bulldozed over the bodies along with their vehicles, burying them in a mass grave before they were later discovered by officials from the United Nations and the Palestinian Red Crescent.
The head of the Palestinian Red Crescent Society had claimed the killed medics were “targeted at close range”. Night-vision drone footage provided by the military shows soldiers were 20 to 30 metres away from the ambulances.
The Israel initially said nine of the 15 medics were Hamas militants. But as part of its investigation, the military now says, without providing evidence, that six of them were "Hamas terrorists". Hamas has rejected the accusation.
The investigation also found that the decision to crush the ambulances was wrong, but said that it was not an attempt to conceal the event.
Major General Yoav Har-Even, in charge of the military’s investigative branch, said the bodies and vehicles were removed from the road because the military wanted to use it for an evacuation route later that day.
No paramedic was armed and no weapons were found in any vehicle, Maj Gen Har-Even said.
“The examination found no evidence to support claims of execution or that any of the deceased were bound before or after the shooting," the report said.
Israel said a deputy commander would be dismissed for providing an "incomplete and inaccurate report" of the incident.
The statement on the findings concluded by saying the Israel’s military “regrets the harm caused to uninvolved civilians”. The one survivor from the incident was detained for investigation and remains in custody for further questioning.
Israel has previously accused Hamas of moving and hiding its fighters inside ambulances and emergency vehicles, as well as in hospitals and other civilian infrastructure. It argues that this justifies the strikes on them. Medical personnel deny the accusations.
Israeli strikes since 7 October 2023 have killed more than 150 emergency responders from the Red Crescent and Civil Defense, most of them while on duty, as well as over 1,000 health workers, according to the United Nations.
Palestinians and international human rights groups have repeatedly accused Israel’s military of failing to properly investigate misconduct by its troops.
Additional reporting by agencies
