The Israeli army has acknowledged several failures and violations of orders in its investigation of a fatal accident last month that claimed the lives of 15 emergency responders in southern Gaza near Rafah. The paramedics were murdered on March 23 and their bodies were found a week later in a shallow grave by UN and Palestinian Red Crescent representatives.
The military announced Sunday that a deputy commander would be fired and a commanding officer disciplined in connection with the incident. The military admitted professional mistakes but said there was no attempt to cover up what happened. It refused to confirm whether criminal charges would be filed.
In accordance with the review, soldiers opened fire in three instances. Two of these were defined as per a perceived threat amid combat, and the third was deemed an order violation. Video footage obtained from a victim’s phone recorded emergency responders and openly marked fire trucks and ambulances being fired at even though they were easily recognizable.
The military blamed bad weather and previous clashes with Hamas militants for making soldiers mistakenly identify the rescuers as enemies. It also claimed that six of the 15 dead were Hamas militants, a charge denied by Hamas.
The army also confirmed it had fired on a UN-marked vehicle and subsequently tried to cover the bodies and move cars away from the scene. It called crushing the cars a mistake but said the bodies were covered to avoid causing further injury.
The Red Crescent reported that another emergency worker is still in Israeli custody. Israeli officials claim international agencies were notified and assisted in coordinating the retrieval of the bodies.
The incident has attracted criticism and fresh scrutiny of Israel’s military actions and behavior in its conflict with Hamas in Gaza.
