The Israeli Military Finds Professional Failure In The Murder Of Gaza Medical Officers By Its Personnel

Israeli military operations in Gaza. (Source: Israel Defense Forces)

JAKARTA - The Israeli military on Sunday said a review of the killing of an emergency response officer in Gaza last month found there were "several professional failures" and a commander would be dismissed for the incident.

15 paramedics and other rescue workers were shot dead on March 23 in three separate shootings at the same location near the southern Gaza city of Rafah.

They were buried in a shallow grave, where their bodies were found a week later by officials from the United Nations (UN) and the Palestinian Red Crescent.

In a statement on Sunday, the military said a commander-in-chief officer would be reprimanded. A deputy commander, a reserve soldier who is a field commander, will be dismissed from office for providing incomplete and inaccurate reports, he said.

"The investigation identified several professional failures, violations of orders, and failures to report the incident in full," the Israeli military said.

"The shooting in the first two incidents occurred due to an operational misunderstanding by troops, who believe they are facing a real threat from enemy forces. The third incident involved a violation of orders during the fighting," he said.

Meanwhile, military advocate generals are conducting their own investigations and criminal charges can be filed, according to the military.

A video taken from the phone of one of the men killed and published by the Palestinian Red Crescent shows emergency response officers in uniform and ambulances as well as fire trucks marked clearly, with lights on, being fired at by soldiers.

Major General Yoav Har-Even, who conducted the review, told reporters, soldiers, of the special forces unit, believed they were under threat after firing what they initially designated as Hamas vehicles, but were actually ambulances. Two passengers were killed and the third detained and interrogated over alleged links to Hamas.

The man was released the next day after further questioning.

The military says Hamas often hides its activities among civilians and that there have been several cases in the past where the militant group used ambulances to carry out operations. However, it said soldiers were asked to differentiate between the original emergency vehicles and those used by Hamas.

Military spokesman Effie Defrin told reporters the incident occurred in a "complex battle zone" but it was clearly the army's fault and there was no attempt to cover up the incident, which was immediately reported.

In addition to the two people killed in the first incident, Har-Even said 12 people were killed in the second shooting and one person died in the third incident.

Red Crescent and UN officials said 17 paramedics and emergency workers from the Red Crescent, Civil Emergency services, and the United Nations had been sent in response to reports of injuries from Israeli airstrikes.

The military said in a statement that in the second shooting, the deputy commander initially did not recognize the vehicle as an ambulance because what they said was "bad night's visibility" and ordered troops to fire a group of people emerging from fire trucks and ambulances.

In a briefing to reporters, the military showed footage of drones from the incident showing a unit consisting of about 20 soldiers firing fire trucks and ambulances ranging from about 30 meters.

Major General Har-Even said the soldiers believed they were shooting a group of Hamas fighters and only realized they had shot the paramedics when they scanned the site after the fighting.

Munther Abed's clerk, who was detained by the military and later released, said soldiers opened fire on well-defined emergency response vehicles.

The Red Cross said on April 13 another Palestinian emergency respondent was detained by Israeli authorities. The military said on Sunday he was still in Israeli custody.

The military said, without providing evidence, six of the 15 emergency respondents who died were later identified as "Hamas terrorists". Hamas has rejected the allegations.

About 15 minutes after the army opened fire on an emergency group of respondents, the military said soldiers opened fire on Palestinian UN vehicles. The military blamed "operational errors that violated the regulations" for the incident.

"In the early hours of the morning, it was decided to collect and cover the bodies to prevent further damage and clear vehicles from the routes in preparation for the evacuation of civilians," the military said, adding that moving the bodies was "in those circumstances" natural, but destroying the vehicles was "wrong".

"In general, there is no attempt to hide the incident, which has been discussed with international organizations and the United Nations, including coordination for the transfer of the bodies," he said.