"Professional failures" led to the killing of Gaza medics, according to an IDF inquiry.

-JERUSALEM

A still from a video that the Palestinian Red Crescent claims was obtained on the phone of a murdered paramedic.

The Israeli military has claimed that the deaths of 15 emergency workers in Gaza last month were the result of "professional failures."

An investigation into the incident by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) revealed a number of flaws, including a "operational misunderstanding" and a "breach of orders."

The unit is deputy commander has been terminated "for delivering an inadequate and misleading report during the debrief."

A spokeswoman for the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) stated the report was "invalid" because it "justifies and shifts the blame to a human error in the field command when the truth is completely different."

On March 23, the Israeli forces opened fire on a convoy of PRCS ambulances, a UN car, and a fire truck, killing fourteen emergency workers and one UN worker

In a statement, the IDF stated its troops opened fire because they believed they were being threatened by enemy forces.

The IDF said its inquiry revealed that six of the casualties were Hamas members, and it denied that there were summary executions.

In an on-the-record briefing, Major General Yoav Har-Even, who examined the incident, told journalists that the Israeli military maintained that six of the emergency workers were Hamas operatives and that they would be identified later.

According to the assessment, the incident occurred in a "hostile and dangerous fighting zone," and the commander on the ground saw an immediate and real threat as vehicles approached swiftly.

It cited "poor night sight," which the IDF claimed meant the commander did not recognize the vehicles as ambulances.

Another commanding officer will be reprimanded for "his overall responsibility for the occurrence," according to the report.

Journalists invited to Sunday's military briefing were shown overhead footage captured in the early hours of March 23 that depicted the attacks. Several other cars, including an ambulance, were seen passing by in the hour or so between the first and second Israeli attacks without being shot at.

Israeli officials stated this demonstrated that forces in Gaza did not open fire on medical vans until they felt endangered.

A UN representative in Gaza warned that the IDF probe did not go far enough. "A lack of true accountability undermines international law and makes the world a more dangerous place," Jonathan Whittall stated.

"Without accountability, we risk seeing atrocities continue to occur and the norms established to safeguard us all erode."

Israel initially claimed that troops opened fire because the convoy approached "suspiciously" in darkness without headlights or flashing lights. It stated that the movement of the vehicles had not previously been coordinated or agreed upon with the army.

However, it later stated that the narrative was "mistaken" as a video discovered on the mobile phone of a medic who was killed showed the trucks with their lights on and emergency signals flashing.

The film shows the vehicles approaching the road as firing begins soon before daybreak.

The footage lasts more than five minutes, with the paramedic offering his final prayers before the voices of Israeli soldiers approach the cars.

It also indicates that the cars were well marked, and the paramedics wore reflective hi-vis uniforms.

The bodies of the fifteen dead workers were buried in sand. They were not discovered until a week after the incident because international authorities, including the UN, were unable to provide safe transit to the area or find the site.

The IDF also acknowledged that it was holding a PRCS medic who had been detained after the event. They did not confirm his name, although the International Committee of the Red Cross had identified him as Assad al-Nassasra.

The Red Crescent and several other foreign organisations have previously requested an impartial investigation into the tragedy.

The IDF's decision to fire a commander and discipline another senior officer is not unprecedented; the military dismissed two officers and took action against others after seven relief workers from the World Central Kitchen were killed in April of last year.

In May 2024, Israel started its first significant offensive in Rafah, destroying much of the city. During a recent two-month ceasefire, tens of thousands of people returned to their remaining houses in the city.

Israel resumed its offensive in Gaza on March 18, after the first part of the ceasefire agreement expired and negotiations on a second phase of the truce faltered.

Israel initiated its battle to eradicate Hamas in reaction to an extraordinary cross-border attack on October 7, 2023, in which around 1,200 people were killed and 251 more were held prisoner.

According to the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza, at least 51,201 individuals have been murdered since then.