Why did Israel's military kill 15 Palestinian aid workers in Gaza? The IDF's story keeps changing

There was fearfulness successful the voices of the Palestinian rescuers arsenic their convoy moved on darkened roads adjacent Rafah to the spot wherever they believed a squad of their colleagues laic injured.

It was the nighttime of March 23 and adjacent for unsafe Gaza, those successful the vehicles appeared to recognize their rescue ngo progressive utmost peril.

"Those bastards — they're lone targeting our teams," said Rifaat Radwan, a paramedic riding successful 1 of the pb vehicles who turned connected his phone's camera. The full footage was aboriginal released by the Palestine Red Crescent Society. 

Radwan's squad was headed to wherever the different group had been attacked a fewer hours earlier by Israel's military.

By aboriginal morning, helium and 14 others — each paramedics oregon assistance workers, according to the United Nations — would beryllium dead, their bodies buried successful a wide sedate alongside their crushed vehicles.

For much than a week and a half, the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) justified the attack, insisting determination were galore Hamas militants among the dormant archetypal responders and that their vehicles had been acting suspiciously and driving without exigency lights. 

But Palestinian advocates accidental emerging video grounds — including video from Radwan's phone, recovered astatine the country of the incidental — and eyewitness accounts suggest the Israeli mentation of events contained astatine best, glaring omissions, and astatine worst, outright lies astir what happened that night.

Footage appears to amusement past moments

In Radwan's video footage, parts of which were archetypal released by the New York Times, the Palestinian Red Crescent workers successful their vehicles are heard talking to each different astir their anxiety, with 1 adjacent reciting an end-of-life prayer, due to the fact that they had been incapable to interaction the missing members of the erstwhile rescue crew.

Recognizing the hazard of an Israeli ambush, idiosyncratic suggested forming up respective ambulances successful a enactment and ensuring each had their flashing exigency lights connected to guarantee the highest visibility.

But it wouldn't marque a difference. Seconds aft the ambulance convoy stops adjacent to a stricken conveyance connected the broadside of the road, the arriving medics get deed with a hail of automatic weapons fire.

"They've surrounded us! They're sidesplitting us!" 1 of the medics is heard screaming connected the video. 

Others are heard praying for their lives, including Radwan.

"Oh, Lord, judge maine arsenic a martyr and forgive me," helium said, arsenic helium uttered his last goodbyes to his mother. 

There's much gunfire, and past silence. It took a afloat week earlier a squad from the United Nations was capable to get entree to the country and retrieve the bodies.

No mentation for archetypal misleading information

For much than 10 days aft the onslaught and successful aggregate IDF briefings, officials insisted the Palestinian vehicles had been travelling without lights.

They besides said that its ambush killed 9 "terrorists," without providing immoderate nonstop grounds of their claims. Later, the IDF said six members of militant groups were among the dead, but again did not supply proof.

On Monday, astatine a quality league successful Ramallah successful the occupied West Bank, the Palestine Red Crescent Society, which had 8 of its members killed successful the attack, released the afloat 19 minutes of Radwan's last video, with English subtitles. The video was recovered connected Radwan's phone, the enactment said, which was recovered from his assemblage much than a week later. 

Following the afloat video's release, Israeli authorities spokesperson David Mencer gave an updated account, elaborating connected the IDF's position. 

"Whilst connected a stakeout against violent activity, IDF soldiers opened occurrence from a region astatine vehicles that were moving suspiciously successful their direction," Mencer said, again repeating that determination were "terrorists" among the group.

"What were Hamas terrorists doing successful ambulances?" helium said.

A play turn

Then, implicit the play successful a hastily called briefing, an Israeli subject spokesperson, who spoke connected the information of anonymity, admitted the paramedics were "mistakenly" identified arsenic a menace and said the subject would analyse why.

In different societal media station Monday, the IDF said its preliminary enquiry determined its troops fired owed to a "perceived threat" and that the wide unit fact-finding and appraisal mechanics would probe deeper.

WATCH | Israeli subject changes story: 

Neither statement, however, explained wherefore the IDF initially released misleading accusation and lone changed its communicative aft the Radwan video was made public.

"We are asking the Israelis wherefore they were killed," said Younis Al-Khatib, the society's president. "They were wearing their [safety] gear. The [ambulance] lights were on.

"Why did you destruct the ambulances aft sidesplitting them? Why did you effort to excavation heavy [in the sand] and fell the ambulances? Why did you fell the bodies?" 

Israel's erstwhile premier curate Ehud Olmert connected Monday added his dependable to a increasing chorus of calls for an independent, outer investigation. "It smells of a cover-up," helium said. A longtime foe of existent premier curate Benjamin Netanyahu, Olmert told the BBC the Israeli subject has overmuch to explain. 

"It looks bad, it smells atrocious and it disturbs me."

In a briefing, an IDF spokesperson said the soldiers were not expecting the convoy to halt wherever it did connected roadworthy and were amazed to spot radical getting retired and running; later, helium said it was approved process to hide bodies successful wide graves to shield them from chaotic animals. 

"There was nary incidental wherever the IDF tried to screen up. On the contrary, they called the UN immediately," said the spokesperson. The IDF could not explicate wherefore the ambulances were besides buried.

A lone survivor

Munther Jihad Abed, 27, the lone confirmed subsister of the attack, told CBC freelance videographer Mohamed El Saife that the IDF made nary effort to verify astatine whom they were shooting.

"There was dense gunfire straight connected us, connected our car," helium said successful an interrogation adjacent Khan Younis. "I didn't perceive a happening from my colleagues — not a sound, but for their last breaths. I saw death." 

At the Ramallah quality conference, Red Crescent officials said the IDF soldiers deliberately chose not to corroborate this, contempt having galore opportunities to bash so.

"It wasn't a azygous incident, it was aggregate attacks," said Red Crescent spokesperson Nebal Farsakh. 

"It started with targeting the ambulance, which you tin spot [on the video] astatine the broadside of the road. Later, you spot the infinitesimal of targeting the convoy of ambulances, and lastly the 3rd onslaught was for the ambulance, the 4th ambulance, which came to enactment from the different side."

'This signifier of the warfare is little popular'

Israel has been repeatedly accused of indiscriminately targeting Palestinian civilians successful Gaza implicit the past 18 months of warfare successful the territory.

In 1 of the deadliest incidents, successful February 2025, the IDF killed 112 radical waiting successful a enactment up for flour successful Gaza City. Around the aforesaid time, a sheet of UN experts condemned repeated Israeli "massacres," including attacks connected humanitarian assistance convoys. 

Israeli quality rights radical Yesh Din reported past July that of much than 664 complaints made into the behaviour of Israel's subject implicit a 10-year period, lone six per cent led to an probe and conscionable 1 ended successful an indictment.   

The radical concluded the military's ain appraisal process utilized for specified investigations "refrains from conducting a due and effectual assessment."

While the wide decease of Palestinian civilians has generated aggravated planetary outrage, peculiarly from humanitarian groups, wrong Israel, disapproval of the IDF and its practices has mostly been muted.

Longtime activistic Sarit Michaeli, with the Israeli quality rights radical B'Tselem, says the deadly incidental with the paramedics whitethorn beryllium a greater trial of transparency for the IDF.

"This signifier of the warfare is little popular," she told CBC News successful an interview.

"I deliberation galore Israelis recognize that subject enactment is not going to bring the hostages backmost alive. And due to the fact that much radical are consenting to knock the justification of this war, radical are consenting to beryllium a spot much captious of things that hap wrong the war, and the sidesplitting of the paramedics is 1 of those things."

Whether that means determination volition beryllium repercussions however, is different issue, says Michaeli.

U.S. President Donald Trump has endorsed Israel's subject run successful Gaza and made his ain attempts to undermine the enactment of the International Criminal Court, a imaginable planetary mechanics to analyse the paramedics' deaths.

Last year, aft the ICC issued an apprehension warrant for Netanyahu, Trump sanctioned the tribunal and its pb prosecutor.

"It doesn't look similar the International Criminal Court has immense clout close present that it tin usage to analyse oregon prosecute this case," said Michaeli.