The Israeli military provided new details that changed its initial statement of killing 15 emergency workers near the southern Canadian city of Rafa, but said investigators are still examining the evidence.
15 paramedics and emergency personnel were shot and buried in a shallow grave on March 23, and a week later, officials from the United Nations and Palestinian Red Crescent found their bodies. Another man is still missing.
The military initially said soldiers had opened fire on vehicles that were approaching their location “suspiciously” in the darkness without lights or markings. It said they killed nine militants in Hamas and Islamic jihad on a bicycle trip to the Palestinian Red Moon.
However, videos recovered from a deceased’s cell phone, published by Palestinian Red Crescent, show first responders wearing uniforms and clearly marked ambulances and fire trucks, wearing lights, were shot by soldiers.
The only known survivor of the incident was Palestinian Red Crescent paramedic Munther Abed, who also said he had seen soldiers open fire on obvious emergency response vehicles.
An Israeli military official said late Saturday that investigators are checking the video and are expected to be submitted to the Army commander on Sunday.
No mention of the vehicle’s lights
He said the preliminary reports received from the field do not describe the lights, but investigators are studying “operational information” and trying to understand if this is due to the error of the person who made the preliminary report.
“What we know right now is the person who gives the initial account, which is wrong. We are trying to understand why.”
Military briefing Israeli media reported that the troops have identified at least six of the 15 deaths as members of the militant group. However, the official refused to provide any evidence or details to understand how he made it, saying he did not want to share confidential information.
“There are terrorists”
“According to our information, there are terrorists there, but the investigation is not over yet,” he told reporters late Saturday.
The United Nations and the Palestinian Red Crescent require an independent investigation into the killing of caregivers.
Red Crescent and UN officials said 17 paramedics and first responders from the Civil Emergency Service and the UN have been dispatched to respond to reports of injuries from Israel’s air strikes.
Apart from Abed’s detention for several hours before being released, another worker is still missing.
The United Nations said last week that information available showed that a team was killed by Israeli forces, while other emergency and aid workers were killed for another few hours while searching for missing colleagues.
Vehicles with air surveillance
Military officials said the initial findings of the investigation showed that troops opened fire on vehicles around 4 a.m., killing two members of Hamas internal security forces and killing another prisoner, who the official said had admitted to Hamas being interrogated.
As time passed, several vehicles drove along the road until around 6 a.m., he said the troops had received news of air surveillance that a group of suspicious vehicles were approaching.
“They felt it was another incident that happened at 4 a.m. and they opened fire,” the official said.
Soldiers “fire from a distance”
He said aerial surveillance video showed the troops at a distance when they opened fire, and he denied reports that the troops had handcuffed at least some of their paramedics and shot at close range.
“It’s not from a closed place. They fired from a distance,” he said. “The people there weren’t abuse.”
He said the soldiers had approached the group they fired the gun and identified at least some as militants. However, he did not explain what evidence prompted the assessment.
“In their eyes, they met the terrorists once, and this was a successful encounter with the terrorists.”
He said the troops informed the United Nations incident on the same day, initially covering the body with a disguise net until it could be recovered.
