An Israeli military investigation has found serious mistakes were made in the deaths of 15 Palestinian medics and a UN staff member in Gaza last month. The killings happened early in the morning on March 23 in Tel Al-Sultan, a neighborhood in Rafah, southern Gaza.
According to the report released Sunday, a deputy commander will be fired due to poor judgment during the operation. The army originally claimed that the medics’ vehicles didn’t have flashing emergency lights when they were shot at. However, later evidence, including cellphone video from one of the medics, proved this was not true.
The video clearly showed the ambulances had flashing lights and visible emergency logos. The medics were trying to help a damaged ambulance that had come under fire earlier. The video also showed that the medical teams did not behave in a suspicious or threatening way. Still, as soon as three medics got out of their vehicles, Israeli forces began shooting, continuing for more than five minutes.
The investigation said the soldiers mistakenly believed the ambulances were being used by Hamas fighters because of low night visibility. It also admitted that bulldozing the scene afterward — which buried the medics’ bodies and their destroyed vehicles — was a wrong decision, but denied this was done to hide the event.
Among the dead were eight members of the Palestinian Red Crescent, six Civil Defense workers, and one UN staff member. The Palestinian Red Crescent said the medics were “targeted at close range,” and the UN was only able to recover the bodies a week later.
The report also mentioned another incident 15 minutes after the shootings, where Israeli troops opened fire on a UN vehicle, which the military called a breach of orders.
Israel has often accused Hamas of hiding fighters in ambulances and hospitals, but health workers deny this. More than 150 emergency responders and over 1,000 health workers have been killed in Israeli strikes, according to the UN.
International groups have accused Israel of not properly investigating its military’s actions. The International Criminal Court has charged top Israeli officials with war crimes, though Israel denies the charges and claims its legal system can handle such matters.
