Israeli forces on Saturday admitted that the first statements from the military involved in the killings of 15 people in southern Gaza last month (the United Nations said they were paramedics and rescuers) were partially “mistakes.”
The rating shared during a briefing with reporters by Israeli military officials came the day after the video obtained by the New York Times appeared to contradict events from previous versions of the military. The official spoke about the terms of anonymity under Army rules.
Israeli military officials said an internal investigation into the attack that sparked international scrutiny and condemnation is ongoing.
Briefing reporters on the military’s first discovery on Saturday night, officials said they were lying in an ambush along the road north of Rafa before dawn on March 23, killing what he described as two Hamas guards at 4am and detaining a third.
Two hours later, when Dawn broke, the ambulance and fire truck convoy approached the same location. Officials said the Israeli forces were still on the ground and received reports from surveillance aircraft that the vessels were moving towards them. When rescuers arrived and left the vehicle, he said the troops believed more Hamas operatives had arrived and fired fire at the vehicle residents from afar.
Israeli forces have previously mistakenly claimed that the vehicle was “doubtfully moving” towards the army “without headlights or emergency signals.”
Video obtained by the Times shows that the approaching ambulances and fire trucks were clearly marked, showing that Israeli forces had fired up emergency lights as they attacked them in a firefight.
A briefing reporter for military officials on Saturday offered no explanation for the inconsistency other than saying that the initial explanation from the ground forces was “wrong.”
Military officials said that Israel believes at least six of the 15 are Hamas operatives, but did not immediately provide evidence, citing the classified nature of the intellectual work involved in the identification process. Recently, the military has repeatedly claimed that nine of the people killed were extremists belonging to Hamas and Islamic Jihad.
Red Crescent, the International Committee of the Red Cross and the United Nations Committee, says that all those killed before are humanitarian workers who should not be under attack.
On March 30, rescuers discovered 15 bodies. Most were shallow mass graves, finding crushed ambulances and vehicles marked with the UN logo. The video obtained by the Times was found on the cell phone of an emergency personnel found at the mass graves.
Israeli officials declined to comment on whether any of the killers were armed. He said Hamas operatives in Gaza often don’t wear military uniforms and Israel saw them posing as civilians, hiding in hospitals and school buildings.
The killings have sparked international scrutiny since 15 people first disappeared. The United Nations and the Palestinian Red Crescent Association said the aid workers were not carrying weapons or were not threatened. Dr. Yunis Al Khatib, president of the Palestinian Red Crescent Association, said the bodies were “targeted from very close range.”
Officials with the Palestinian Red Crescent Association said last week that an ambulance departed around 3:30am on March 23 to evacuate Palestinian civilians injured in Israeli artillery shelling, but the ambulance and its crew were attacked.
The United Nations said, according to the association, several more ambulances and fire trucks rescued them to rescue them. A total of 17 people were dispatched, 10 of whom were Red Crescent, six were emergency responders in Gaza’s civil defense, and one was a UN worker.
Red Crescent said one Medic was still missing and one was taken into custody by Israeli forces and then released.
