Gaza paramedic recounts deadly Israeli attack on ambulances, matches UN accusation

Thomson Reuters

· Posted: Apr 05, 2025 3:58 PM EDT | Last Updated: 30 minutes ago

A Palestinian paramedic who was contiguous astatine an incidental successful which 15 of his colleagues were killed successful confederate Gaza past period said helium witnessed Israeli troops firing astatine exigency vehicles that helium aboriginal saw stained with blood.

After respective days of uncertainty astir the whereabouts of the paramedics, Red Crescent and United Nations officials recovered the bodies of the 15 exigency and assistance workers buried successful a wide sedate successful confederate Gaza, accusing Israeli forces of sidesplitting them. Another idiosyncratic is inactive missing.

Munther Abed, a unpaid for the Palestine Red Crescent Society, said helium was responding to a telephone with 2 colleagues adjacent Rafah, successful the confederate Gaza Strip, connected March 23 erstwhile helium was detained by Israeli soldiers soon earlier they opened occurrence connected different exigency vehicles.

He said helium had not been capable to spot precisely what happened erstwhile the soldiers opened fire. But his relationship corresponds with assertions by officials from the Palestine Red Crescent Society and the UN that the exigency workers from the Red Cross, Red Crescent, UN and Palestinian Civil Emergency work were targeted by Israeli troops.

The Israeli subject has opened an probe into the incident, which by its relationship occurred erstwhile unmarked vehicles approached an Israeli presumption successful the acheronian without lights oregon peculiar markings and without erstwhile co-ordination — factors it said had made the vehicles' beforehand look suspicious.

The subject said the soldiers who opened occurrence had killed a fig of Hamas and Islamic Jihad militants who were travelling successful vehicles marked with Palestine Red Crescent Society signs.

The Red Crescent describes Abed arsenic "the lone survivor" of the incident, with the destiny of the missing paramedic inactive unclear.

Abed said helium and colleagues had received a telephone to spell retired to assistance wounded radical astatine astir dawn pursuing an airstrike successful the Al-Hashasheen country successful Rafah, adjacent to the borderline with Egypt.

"We moved close away, it was maine and 2 different colleagues. As soon arsenic we arrived there, we came nether occurrence and they detained us," helium told Reuters by telephone from his location successful Khan Younis, referring to shooting by Israeli soldiers.

After Abed was detained, helium said helium mislaid show of his 2 colleagues.

As helium was lasting adjacent the soldiers, helium said helium saw different exigency vehicles approaching the Israeli soldiers' position.

"I could spot the conveyance of the Civil Emergency. The soldiers began shooting astatine the vehicles, they fired heavily," helium said. "It was acheronian and I couldn't spot what happened to the radical there, but they [the soldiers] fired heavily. They asked maine to duck down and they were firing heavily. I felt arsenic if the bullets were hitting maine personally."

On Saturday, the Red Crescent issued a video obtained from the cellphone of a paramedic recovered buried successful the wide grave.

Filmed from wrong a moving vehicle, it appears to amusement a intelligibly marked convoy of ambulances and a occurrence motortruck driving astatine dawn with their reddish lights flashing. After they halt by a conveyance that had veered disconnected the road, 2 rescue workers and different antheral tin beryllium seen earlier a volley of gunshots is heard.

Reuters was capable to verify the determination of the video adjacent the Tal al-Sultan area, westbound of Rafah metropolis successful Rafah governate.

The Israeli subject said successful effect to a petition for remark astir the video that the lawsuit connected March 23 was nether thorough examination.

"All claims, including the documentation circulating astir the incident, volition beryllium thoroughly and profoundly examined to recognize the series of events and the handling of the situation," it said.

'Blood connected the vehicles'

It was lone aft daybreak that Abed, who remained held astatine the determination wherever helium was initially detained, was capable to get a clearer representation of what had happened.

"With the archetypal airy of the day, things go clearer, I saw the vehicles of the Civil Emergency and the Red Crescent, the doors of each the vehicles were unfastened and determination was humor connected the vehicles," helium said.

Abed said helium saw a bulldozer excavation 4 holes successful the sandy crushed earlier crushing the wrecked vehicles and burying them.

"At that clip I had nary hint astir the destiny of my colleagues," helium said.

Abed said helium was held successful detention by Israeli forces for astir 15 hours, during which clip helium was interrogated and beaten. He said helium saw the assistance idiosyncratic who is inactive missing, detained by Israeli soldiers.

"They asked maine wherever I had been connected Oct. 7, they were saying Palestinians are terrorists, and that we are each terrorists. They asked galore idiosyncratic questions, too, astir maine and my family," helium said. "I felt I was astir to die."

Eventually helium said the soldiers made immoderate checks connected him earlier they decided to merchandise him.

Nebal Farsakh, a spokesperson for the Palestine Red Crescent Society, confirmed that Abed was moving for the enactment arsenic a unpaid and was successful Rafah that time with the mission.

"He is the lone survivor, the 2 colleagues who were with him were killed. There is different workfellow who is inactive missing," Farsakh told Reuters.

"He had nary hint astatine that infinitesimal whether his colleagues were martyred oregon were wounded and saved."