Israeli probe into the killings of 15 Palestinian medics in Gaza finds
'professional failures'
[April 21, 2025]
By MELANIE LIDMAN
JERUSALEM (AP) — An Israeli investigation into the killings of 15
Palestinian medics last month in Gaza by Israeli forces said Sunday it
found a chain of “professional failures” and a deputy commander has been
fired.
The shootings outraged many in the international community, with some
calling the killings a war crime. Medical workers have special
protection under international humanitarian law. The International Red
Cross/Red Crescent called it the deadliest attack on its personnel in
eight years.
Israel at first claimed that the medics' vehicles did not have emergency
signals on when troops opened fire but later backtracked. Cellphone
video recovered from one medic contradicted Israel’s initial account.
Footage shows the ambulances had lights flashing and logos visible as
they pulled up to help another ambulance that earlier came under fire.
The military investigation found that the deputy battalion commander
acted under the incorrect assumption that all the ambulances belonged to
Hamas militants. It said the deputy commander, operating under “poor
night visibility,” felt his troops were under threat when the ambulances
sped toward their position and medics rushed out to check the victims.
The military said the flashing lights were less visible on night-vision
drones and goggles.
The ambulances immediately came under a barrage of gunfire that went on
for more than five minutes with brief pauses. Minutes later, soldiers
opened fire at a U.N. car that stopped at the scene.
Bodies were buried in a mass grave
Eight Red Crescent personnel, six Civil Defense workers and a U.N.
staffer were killed in the shooting before dawn on March 23 by troops
conducting operations in Tel al-Sultan, a district of the southern Gaza
city of Rafah. Troops bulldozed over the bodies along with their mangled
vehicles, burying them in a mass grave. U.N. and rescue workers were
only able to reach the site a week later.
The Israeli military said soldiers buried the bodies to prevent them
from being mangled by stray dogs and coyotes until they could be
collected, and that the ambulances were moved to allow the route to be
used for civilian evacuations later that day.
The investigation found that the decision to crush the ambulances was
wrong but said there was no attempt to conceal the shootings.
Mar. Gen. Yoav Har-Even, who oversees the military's investigations,
said the military notified international organizations later that day
and helped rescue workers locate the bodies.
The head of the Palestinian Red Crescent Society has said the men were
“targeted at close range." Night-vision drone footage provided by the
military shows soldiers were 20 to 30 meters away from the ambulances.
The deputy commander was the first to open fire, leading the rest of the
soldiers to start shooting, Har-Even said. The investigation found the
paramedics were killed due to an “operational misunderstanding” by
Israeli forces, and that shooting at the U.N. car was a breach of
orders.
The findings asserted that six of those killed were Hamas militants — it
did not give their names — and said three other paramedics were
originally misidentified as Hamas. The Civil Defense is part of the
Hamas-run government.
No paramedic was armed and no weapons were found in any vehicle, Har-Even
said.
One survivor was detained for investigation and remains in custody for
further questioning. According to the military, soldiers who questioned
the survivor thought he identified himself as a Hamas member, which was
later refuted.
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Mourners gather around the bodies of 8 Red Crescent emergency
responders, recovered in Rafah a week after an Israeli attack, as
they are transported for burial from a hospital in Deir al-Balah,
Gaza Strip, on Monday, March 31, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana,
file)
UN calls for accountability
Har-Even said the deputy commander was fired for giving a not
“completely accurate” report to investigators about the firing on a
U.N. vehicle.
The statement on the findings concluded by saying that Israel’s
military “regrets the harm caused to uninvolved civilians.”
“Without accountability, we risk continuing to watch atrocities
unfolding, and the norms designed to protect us all, eroding. Too
many civilians, including aid workers, have been killed in Gaza.
Their stories have not all made the headlines,” Jonathan Whittall,
interim head in Gaza of the U.N. humanitarian office OCHA, said in a
statement responding to the findings.
There was no immediate public reaction from the Red Crescent or
Civil Defense.
The findings have been turned over the Military Advocate General,
which can decide whether to file civil charges. It is meant to be an
independent body, with oversight by Israel’s attorney general and
Supreme Court.
There are no outside investigations of the killings underway.
Israeli strikes 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 during the war, according to the
U.N. The Israeli military rarely investigates such incidents.
Israel has accused Hamas of moving and hiding its fighters inside
ambulances and emergency vehicles, as well as in hospitals and other
civilian infrastructure, arguing that justifies strikes on them.
Medical personnel largely deny the accusations.
Israel disputes ICC accusations of war crimes
Palestinians and international human rights groups have repeatedly
accused Israel’s military of failing to properly investigate or
whitewashing misconduct by its troops.
Har-Even said the Israeli military is currently investigating 421
incidents in Gaza during the war, with 51 concluded and sent to the
Military Advocate General. There was no immediate information on the
number of investigations involving potential wrongful deaths or how
many times the MAG has pursued criminal charges.
The International Criminal Court, established by the international
community as a court of last resort, has accused Israeli Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defense minister Yoav Gallant
of war crimes. Israel, which is not a member of the court, has long
asserted that its legal system is capable of investigating the army,
and Netanyahu has accused the ICC of antisemitism.
The war in Gaza began when Hamas-led militants attacked southern
Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing about 1,200 people, mostly
civilians, and abducting 251. Most of the hostages have been
released in ceasefire agreements or other deals. Hamas currently
holds 59 hostages, 24 of them believed to be alive.
Israel’s offensive has since killed over 51,000 Palestinians, mostly
women and children, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does
not distinguish between civilians and combatants.
Frustration has been growing on both sides, with rare public
protests against Hamas in Gaza and continued weekly rallies in
Israel pressing the government to reach a deal to bring all hostages
home.
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