'Professional failures': Israel as probe finds military at fault over 15 medics' killing in Gaza
Among the 15 medics who died, eight were members of the Red Crescent, six were Civil Defense workers, and one was a UN employee.
An Israeli Deputy commander has been fired after an investigation by Israel into the killing of 15 Palestinian medics in Gaza found “professional failures” on the Israeli military’s end, reported Associated Press.
On March 23, 15 medics died after their ambulances came under fire by Israeli forces in Tel al-Sultan, a neighborhood in Gaza’s Rafah, leading to a huge uproar by the international community. Medics are explicitly given special protection under international humanitarian law.
Among those 15 people who died, eight were members of the Red Crescent, six were Civil Defense workers, and one was a UN employee. Israel attacked their vehicles, mistaking them to be linked with Hamas, revealed the investigation.
Initially, Israel claimed that the vehicles in which the medics were travelling did not have emergency signals. However, their claim was refuted after a video recovered from a cellphone of a medic revealed that the vehicles did have flashing lights and logos when they came under attack, the report said.
What the probe says
According to the findings of the investigation, the deputy battalion commander fired at the ambulances after incorrectly assuming them to be linked with Hamas. The probe also blamed “poor night visibility” during the attack as the Israeli forces felt threatened when ambulances made their way towards them, according to the AP report. The Israeli forces also said that the lights on the vehicles were not clearly visible on night-vision drones and goggles.
After the attack, the ambulances and bodies of the medics were bulldozed and buried by Israeli troops, which the Israeli military said were to avoid the bodies being mangled by stray dogs and to make way for evacuations announced during the day. However, the probe says that bulldozing the ambulances was wrong but it was not done to hide the attack.
According to Israel’s Mar. Gen. Yoav Har-Even, who heads military investigations, the international agencies were notified later in the day and Israeli forces helped locate the bodies too.
Har-Even also said that it was the deputy commander who started the shooting and was followed by his troops to fire at the ambulances for about five minutes. Later, a UN car that had arrived at the scene was also fired at, which the probe says was a breach of orders. The probe calls the killing a result of “operational misunderstanding” by Israel forces.
According to the probe, out of those killed, six were Hamas militants and three others were mistaken to be associated with Hamas. Israel has for long alleged that Hamas has been using ambulances and emergency vehicles to move around in Gaza. However, Har-Even revealed that no weapons were found in the ambulances and none of the medics was armed.
He also said that the deputy commander was fired because he did not present a “completely accurate” report of firing at the UN vehicle.
The probe says that the Israeli military “regrets the harm caused to uninvolved civilians” and its findings have been handed over to the Military Advocate General, who can decide whether to file civil charges.
According to Har-Even, 421 incidents that have happened in Gaza during the war are currently under investigation by the Israeli military and 51 have been concluded and sent to the Military Advocate General.
With AP inputs.
