Israeli probe into killings of Palestinian medics finds ‘professional failures’

Israel at first claimed that the medics’ vehicles did not have emergency signals on when troops opened fire, but later backtracked.

Mobile phone video recovered from one of the medics contradicted Israel’s initial account.

The military investigation found that the deputy battalion commander, “due to poor night visibility”, assessed that the ambulances belonged to Hamas militants.

Video footage obtained from the incident shows the ambulances had lights flashing and logos visible, as they pulled up to help an ambulance that had come under fire earlier.

The teams do not appear to be acting unusually or in a threatening manner as three medics emerge and head toward the stricken ambulance.

Their vehicles immediately come under a barrage of gunfire that goes on for more than five minutes with brief pauses.

Eight Red Crescent personnel, six civil defence workers and a UN staff member were killed in the shooting before dawn on March 23 by troops conducting operations in Tel al-Sultan, a district of the southern Gaza city of Rafah.

Troops then bulldozed over the bodies along w...
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