Israeli military changes account of Gaza first-responder killings

Thomson Reuters

· Posted: Apr 06, 2025 8:57 AM EDT | Last Updated: 7 minutes ago

The Israeli subject has provided caller details that changed its archetypal relationship of the sidesplitting of 15 exigency workers adjacent the confederate Gaza metropolis of Rafah past period but said investigators were inactive examining the evidence.

The 15 paramedics and exigency responders were changeable dormant connected March 23 and buried successful a shallow grave, wherever their bodies were recovered a week aboriginal by officials from the United Nations and the Palestinian Red Crescent. Another antheral is inactive missing.

The subject initially said soldiers had opened occurrence connected vehicles that approached their presumption "suspiciously" successful the acheronian without lights oregon markings. It said they killed 9 militants from Hamas and Islamic Jihad who were travelling successful Palestinian Red Crescent vehicles.

But video recovered from the mobile telephone of 1 of the dormant men and published by the Palestinian Red Crescent showed exigency workers successful their uniforms and intelligibly marked ambulances and occurrence trucks, with their lights on, being fired connected by soldiers.

The lone known subsister of the incident, Palestinian Red Crescent paramedic Munther Abed, besides said helium had seen soldiers opening occurrence connected intelligibly marked exigency effect vehicles.

An Israeli subject authoritative said precocious connected Saturday the investigators were examining the video and conclusions were expected to beryllium presented to service commanders connected Sunday.

No mention of lights connected vehicles

He said the archetypal study received from the tract did not picture lights but that investigators were looking astatine "operational information" and were trying to recognize if this was owed to an mistake by the idiosyncratic making the archetypal report.

"What we recognize presently is the idiosyncratic who gives the archetypal relationship is mistaken. We're trying to recognize why."

Israeli media briefed by the subject reported that troops had identified astatine slightest six of the 15 dormant arsenic members of militant groups. However, the authoritative declined to supply immoderate grounds oregon item of however the identifications were made, saying helium did not privation to stock classified information.

'There were terrorists'

"According to our information, determination were terrorists determination but this probe is not over," helium told reporters astatine the briefing precocious connected Saturday.

The UN and Palestinian Red Crescent person demanded an autarkic enquiry into the sidesplitting of the paramedics.

Red Crescent and UN officials person said 17 paramedics and exigency workers from the Red Crescent, the Civil Emergency work and the UN had been dispatched to respond to reports of injuries from Israeli airstrikes.

Apart from Abed, who was detained for respective hours earlier being released, different idiosyncratic is inactive missing.

The UN said past week that disposable accusation indicated 1 squad was killed by Israeli forces, and different exigency and assistance crews were killed 1 aft different implicit respective hours arsenic they searched for their missing colleagues.

Vehicles spotted with aerial surveillance

The subject authoritative said archetypal findings from the probe showed troops had opened occurrence connected a conveyance astatine astir 4 a.m., sidesplitting 2 members of the Hamas interior information forces, and taking different prisoner, who the authoritative said had admitted nether interrogation to being successful Hamas.

As clip passed, respective vehicles passed on the roadworthy until, astatine astir 6 a.m., helium said troops received connection from aerial surveillance that a suspicious radical of vehicles was approaching.

"They consciousness this is different incidental similar what happened astatine 4 a.m. and they opened fire," the authoritative said.

Soldiers 'opened occurrence from afar'

He said aerial surveillance footage showed the troops were astatine immoderate region erstwhile they opened fire, and helium denied reports that the troops handcuffed astatine slightest immoderate of the paramedics and changeable them astatine adjacent range.

"It's not from close. They opened occurrence from afar," helium said. "There's nary mistreatment of the radical there."

He said the soldiers had approached the radical they had shot, identifying astatine slightest immoderate of them arsenic militants. However, helium did not explicate what grounds had prompted the assessment.

"And successful their eyes they had an brushwood with terrorists, that is simply a palmy brushwood with terrorists."

He said the troops had informed the UN of the incidental connected the aforesaid time and initially covered the bodies with camouflage netting until they could beryllium recovered.