A few days after the UN accused Israel of killing 15 humanitarian workers in Gaza, officials who recovered the bodies or performed the autopsy said some rescuers were shot multiple times before being buried in mass graves.
According to Nebal Farsakh, the Palestinian Red Crescent Association, which killed the recovery mission, killed the recovery mission and carried out the recovery mission, said almost all 15 bodies had demonstrated gunshot wounds. A paramedic was found with his hands and feet tied to his body, Falsaf said.
“My colleagues were shot. The bodies recovered, many of them have multiple shootings. We all had tossed in a massive tomb, the bodies were placed next to each other and covered in sand,” Farsaf said in a telephone interview with Ramala.
The death of the aid worker who first disappeared on March 23 has recently attracted international condemnation.
That day, ambulances and UN vehicles were attacked by Israeli forces in Rafa, southern Gaza, and were subsequently silent. On Sunday, rescuers discovered 15 bodies. Most were shallow mass graves, finding crushed ambulances and vehicles marked with the UN logo. The United Nations, generally cautious about allocating criticism, accused them of killing Israel.
Israeli military spokesman Lt. Col. Nadab Shoshani said on Monday X that nine of the people killed were Palestinian extremists. He said that Israeli forces “didn’t randomly attack” the ambulances, but that some vehicles were “going suspiciously” and “going suspiciously” without headlights or emergency signals at Israeli forces.
“When Hamas terrorists operate in the combat zone where Hamas terrorists operate while Israel does whatever it takes to protect their soldiers and citizens, using humanitarian vehicles as covers, launching rockets from hospitals, stealing aid.”
Dr Ahmad Dya, a forensic expert at Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis, Gazan city, investigated five bodies belonging to humanitarian workers on Monday. He said in a phone interview from Gaza that he found multiple bullet wounds in the bodies of four, some appearing to have been photographed at close range. The fifth was broken down beyond recognition, Dr. Dhair said.
He is scheduled to investigate the remaining bodies Thursday. One of the four had bruises on the wrist with linear marks on the skin, Dr. Dhair added that further investigation is needed to determine whether any of the victims are tied up.
“Some of them were shot in the head from behind,” Dr. Dhair said. He also saw gunshot wounds in his torso and chest, adding that the shoulder and elbow joints are also being targeted.
Dr. Dhair’s assessment was first reported in the Guardian.
Two senior officials and one official from the International Federation of the International Red Cross and the Red Crescent Society confirmed they had seen reports from a colleague on the ground who took part in a recovery mission that showed that a humanitarian worker had been shot and killed. Officials asked not to name them as they had no authority to comment publicly.
On Wednesday, the United Nations in New York gave details of what happened on March 23, saying the attack was a serious violation of laws protecting humanitarian workers in conflict zones. The organization called for an independent investigation.
Jonathan Whitthal, head of the UN Humanitarian Organization of Palestinian Territories, said all paramedics and civil defense members of the Palestinian Red Crescent Association were still wearing uniforms and gloves when they were found. They were traveling in marked vehicles and pose no threat to anyone, he added.
“They were being sent to Rafa as Israeli forces were entering the area. When they entered Rafa, the ambulances were attacked one by one as they advanced,” said Whittle, who was part of the rescue operation and was among the team who found the bodies.
Farsaf said the humanitarian workers were not carrying weapons and were sent to support injured civilians caught up in Israeli strikes.
One member of the Palestinian Red Crescent Association is still missing. And the other person in the first ambulance was detained by Israeli forces and later released, Falsaf said. He said Israel blew a heavy gunshot into an ambulance, killing two of his colleagues sitting in front of him.
Farsaf said they found their field and witnesses showing that they killed aid workers, one of the ambulance workers in the ambulance called the dispatch centres while Israel was under attack, as well as reported that Israeli forces fired on the convoy and all were injured.
