JERUSALEM — An Israeli military investigation into the killing of 15 Palestinian medics in Gaza last month has concluded that “professional failures” occurred during the operation and announced the dismissal of a deputy battalion commander involved in the incident.
The probe followed the deaths of emergency workers on March 23 in Tel al-Sultan, a district of Rafah in southern Gaza, where Israeli troops opened fire on ambulances responding to an earlier strike. Initial Israeli claims suggested that the vehicles lacked emergency markings, but cellphone footage recovered from one of the victims showed flashing lights and visible medical logos at the time of the shooting.
According to the investigation, the deputy commander mistakenly identified the ambulances as belonging to Hamas fighters due to “poor night visibility.” However, video from the scene showed no hostile activity as three medics exited their vehicles to assist a disabled ambulance, only to come under sustained fire lasting more than five minutes.
Among the dead were eight Palestinian Red Crescent personnel, six Civil Defense workers, and a United Nations employee. After the incident, Israeli forces reportedly used bulldozers to bury the bodies and vehicles in a mass grave. U.N. and rescue workers recovered the remains a week later.
The investigation also addressed a separate incident 15 minutes later in which troops fired on a U.N. vehicle, concluding that the attack violated military orders.
While the Israeli military initially claimed that nine of the victims were Hamas militants, the final report did not confirm whether any of those killed were fighters. It acknowledged that the decision to crush the ambulances was a “mistake” but denied any effort to conceal the killings.
“The examination found no evidence to support claims of execution or that any of the deceased were bound before or after the shooting,” the military said.
Israel has frequently accused Hamas of using ambulances and medical infrastructure to transport militants, a claim denied by Palestinian medical teams. Human rights organizations and international observers have repeatedly accused the Israeli military of failing to properly investigate incidents involving civilian casualties.
According to the United Nations, more than 150 emergency responders and over 1,000 health workers have been killed by Israeli strikes since the beginning of the war. The International Criminal Court has issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant over alleged war crimes. Israel, which is not a party to the ICC, maintains that its legal system is capable of investigating military conduct and has rejected the charges as politically motivated.
