The IDF has acknowledged that its initial account of the deaths of 15 paramedics and rescue workers in Gaza was inaccurate, according to media reports citing preliminary investigation results.
On March 23rd, Israeli soldiers positioned near Rafah fired upon a convoy that included ambulances from the Palestinian Red Crescent Society, a UN vehicle, and a fire truck belonging to Gaza’s Civil Defence.
The IDF had previously stated that the convoy was traveling without lights in the dark.
However, a video obtained by the New York Times, taken from a paramedic’s phone and released on Saturday, showed clearly marked ambulances with headlights on and paramedics wearing reflective clothing when they were attacked in Rafah’s Tel Sultan neighborhood.
🚨This video was discovered on the cellphone of a paramedic who was found along with 14 other Palestinian rescue and medical workers in a mass grave in Gaza.
The Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies presented it to the UN Security Council this week.
— Drop Site (@DropSiteNews)
The New York Times reported that an IDF official stated in a press briefing that the soldiers “mistakenly” believed the rescuers were Hamas militants, adding that the incident “will be examined thoroughly and in depth.”
The Times of Israel reported that the preliminary findings indicated that the IDF had set up an ambush on the road around 4 a.m. local time. Roughly 30 minutes later, a Hamas police vehicle passed by, resulting in an exchange of fire with the soldiers, who killed one militant and captured two others. At approximately 6 a.m., Israeli forces identified the ambulance convoy and opened fire. The IDF stated that a surveillance drone operator had earlier reported that the convoy was moving in a “suspicious manner.”
The IDF also stated that intelligence officials later identified at least six of the deceased medics as Hamas operatives.
Last month, Israel resumed its airstrikes and ground operations against Hamas in Gaza after the failure to agree on the second phase implementation of a ceasefire that had been brokered by the US, Egypt, and Qatar in January.