The Israeli military announced on Sunday that its internal investigation into the tragic slaying of medics in Gaza last month revealed “several professional failures” in the conduct of its soldiers during the incident. This attack, which took place in Rafah, resulted in the deaths of 14 paramedics and a United Nations employee, and has drawn international outrage, with accusations of war crimes against Israeli forces.
In its statement, the military acknowledged that it had previously confirmed the attack’s occurrence while refraining from clarifying its rationale for firing upon the emergency vehicles amidst the chaos. Notably, experts and reports indicated that the event constituted a serious breach of wartime conduct.
The released findings noted, “The examination identified several professional failures, breaches of orders, and a failure to fully report the incident.” It further elucidated that the deaths were the result of “an operational misunderstanding” whereby troops on the ground misidentified the rescue vehicles as a potential threat from enemy forces. Within this context, the disclosure included details about the mistaken targeting of a humanitarian U.N. vehicle, illustrating a disregard for combat regulations.
Eyewitness accounts transferred through video and audio evidence corroborated that the Israeli soldiers opened fire on ambulances operated by the Palestine Red Crescent Society, as well as a fire truck responding to the emergency. The military attributed the mistaken identification of these essential services to “poor night visibility,” leading to a deputy commander failing to distinguish the vehicles as ambulances initially.
This investigation comes on the heels of significant discrepancies in the military's narrative. Previous claims had falsely suggested that the targeted vehicles approached without proper signals. However, a video uncovered on a dead paramedic’s cellphone depicted the vehicles appropriately signaling their presence before the fatal attack, compelling the military to retract its earlier assertions.
Adding to the controversy, Israeli forces reportedly took extreme measures post-attack, including burying the deceased medics in a mass grave and crushing the vehicles involved in the incident. The military expressed that while the handling of the bodies was deemed appropriate under the circumstances, the destruction of the emergency vehicles was unwarranted.
As a result of the investigation, the commander of the brigade will receive a formal reprimand for his overall oversight of the episode, while the battalion’s deputy commander will be dismissed for his direct involvement and provision of inaccurate reports during debriefings.
In additional reporting from Gaza by Bilal Shbair and from Cairo by Vivian Yee contributed valuable perspectives to this ongoing crisis, underlining the complexities surrounding military operations and humanitarian aid in conflict zones.
