The paramedics and rescue workers killed in the Israeli military's shooting in Gaza on March 23 suffered primarily from head and chest wounds, with further injuries from shrapnel, according to new autopsy reports obtained by The New York Times. The attack targeted ambulances and a fire truck dispatched by the Palestine Red Crescent Society, as well as Civil Defense teams, with numerous eyewitnesses providing accounts along with audio and video evidence of the incident.
On that day, the Israeli military admitted to conducting the attack that resulted in the deaths of 15 individuals, including 14 emergency responders and a U.N. personnel who was passing by at the time. Following the incident, Israeli troops reportedly disposed of the bodies in a mass grave and crushed the emergency vehicles involved. Amid increased scrutiny, the Israeli military provided various and conflicting explanations for their actions, suggesting, without substantiation, that some of the deceased were affiliated with Hamas. An investigation into these killings is currently underway.
The incident provoked significant international outrage, with many experts labeling it a war crime. Autopsies were conducted from April 1 to April 5, after rescue workers located the bodies in southern Gaza. The forensic examinations, led by Dr. Ahmad Dhair, head of Gaza's health ministry's forensic unit, were reviewed by Dr. Arne Stray-Pedersen, a Norwegian forensic pathologist who had provided training in the region earlier that month.
These tragic circumstances serve to highlight the perilous situation for emergency responders in conflict zones like Gaza, where the risks they face often result in devastating consequences.
On that day, the Israeli military admitted to conducting the attack that resulted in the deaths of 15 individuals, including 14 emergency responders and a U.N. personnel who was passing by at the time. Following the incident, Israeli troops reportedly disposed of the bodies in a mass grave and crushed the emergency vehicles involved. Amid increased scrutiny, the Israeli military provided various and conflicting explanations for their actions, suggesting, without substantiation, that some of the deceased were affiliated with Hamas. An investigation into these killings is currently underway.
The incident provoked significant international outrage, with many experts labeling it a war crime. Autopsies were conducted from April 1 to April 5, after rescue workers located the bodies in southern Gaza. The forensic examinations, led by Dr. Ahmad Dhair, head of Gaza's health ministry's forensic unit, were reviewed by Dr. Arne Stray-Pedersen, a Norwegian forensic pathologist who had provided training in the region earlier that month.
These tragic circumstances serve to highlight the perilous situation for emergency responders in conflict zones like Gaza, where the risks they face often result in devastating consequences.
