An Israeli military investigation into the killing of 15 Palestinian doctors and care providers called it a “operational misunderstanding”, and claimed that “bad night view” led to troops opening the fire on ambulances.
The deputy commander of the battalion involved in the attack was rejected as a result of the probe, said the investigation that his memory of the incident was “incomplete and inaccurate”.
On March 23, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) had considerable criticism of the attack in southern Gaza after the bodies of eight paramedics, six Gaza Civil Defense Workers and an employee of the United Nations were found in a shallow grave next to the crushed wreck of their vehicles.
The 15 bodies were recovered from what the United Nations described as a ‘mass grave’. ((Reuters: Hatem Khaled))
The IDF initially said that the convoy was fired because it was assumed that it was a group of Hamas vehicles and the ambulances did not use their emergency lights.
But the Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCs) quickly released video of one of the phone from the killed paramedic, who showed that the vehicles had had red lights flashed in the moments before a grind of gunfire focused on the group.
Medici and forensic experts who had seen some of the bodies after they had been found claimed that there was evidence that the men had been shot in the head in the head and their hands and feet were tied.
One medic is still missing, where the international Red Cross says that it is being held by Israeli troops.
Israeli army says ‘no evidence’ of execution
The IDF gave an internal investigation into the attack and reported its findings on the local time of Sunday afternoon.
In a statement, the army said it “found no evidence to support claims of implementation or that one of the deceased was bound before or after the shooting”.
“Such claims are bloody and false accusations to IDF soldiers,” the IDF said in a statement.
Folders were overcome outside the Nasser hospital in Khan Younis after the bodies had been restored. ((Reuters: Hatem Khaled))
The investigation said that three separate shootings were what happened after other emergency vehicles were allowed by the area near Tel Al-Sultan in southern Gaza.
“Troops did not take random fire, but remained alert to respond to real threats they identified,” said the IDF.
The first attack, which hit an ambulance, was to what the army said was “a vehicle that was identified as a Hamas vehicle”.
Other emergency staff raced to discover that ambulance, which had driven off the road when they were fired.
“Troops opened the fire on suspects who came from a fire truck and ambulances very close to the area in which the troops operated, after having observed an immediate and tangible threat,” the IDF said.
“Support for supervision had reported that five vehicles approached quickly and stopped near the troops, where passengers quickly got out.
“Due to the poor visibility of the night, the deputy commander did not initially recognize the vehicles as ambulances.
“Only later, after approaching the vehicles and scanning it, it was discovered that these were indeed rescue teams.“
The statement did not directly tackle that the video was used with emergency lights.
Crowds gathered to mourn the 15 dead who were killed. ((Reuters: Hatem Khaled))
IDF maintains six Hamas terrorists in group
The IDF still retains six Hamas terrorists in the group – but has only mentioned one of the men and has not provided any evidence to support his claim.
“About 15 minutes later, the troops shot on a Palestinian UN vehicle due to operational errors in violation of the regulations,” said the IDF.
The state of the bodies and their vehicles, buried in a superficial grave, had led to accusations against the army that it had tried to hide the attack – knowing that an attack on doctors and humanitarian was illegal under international law.
“The investigation concluded that removing the bodies was reasonable under the circumstances, but the decision to crush the vehicles was wrong,” said the IDF.
“In general there was no attempt to hide the event, which was discussed with international organizations and the UN, including coordination for the removal of bodies.“
The IDF said that “regrets the damage that the citizens are not involved”, but again said that the attack took place in a “hostile and dangerous combat zone”.
It said that the findings of the investigation had been referred to the office of the military lawyer -general – a movement that suggested that those involved could be confronted within the military legal system.
The ABC has contacted the Palestinian Red Crescent Society for comments.
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