Humanitarian agencies refuse to claim Gaza doctor killing due to “professional failure”
The UN humanitarian agency, the Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) and the Civil Defense Agency in Gaza rejected the findings of an Israeli military investigation that found the killings of 15 Palestinian medical workers and rescue workers in Rafah last month, caused by “professional failure.”
Eight Palestinian Red Crescent care workers, six members of six civil defense rescue agencies and an employee of the United Nations Palestinian refugee agency (UN Palestinian refugee agency) shot and killed Israeli troops in southern southern Gaza in the early morning of March 23.
The IDF initially claimed that the military doctor’s vehicle did not use emergency signals when the troops opened fire, but instead traced back after the mobile phone video contradicted the account. On Sunday, it said the internal investigation “identified several professional failures, order violations and underreported incidents.”
Gaza’s civil defense agency rescued the victims of the air strike, dismissed the Israeli army’s report, accusing the army of lying down, trying to prove the defense against the rescue convoy.
“The video taken by a caregiver proved that the narrative of Israel’s occupation was wrong and proved that it had been a brief execution,” Civil Defense official Mohammed Al-Mughair told Agence-France Presse on Monday.
Jonathan Whittall, head of humanitarianism in the United Nations, said the investigation is not far enough. “The lack of real sense of responsibility undermines international law and makes the world even more dangerous,” he said.
“Without accountability, we risk continuing to observe atrocities and norms designed to protect erosions from us all.”
“The report is full of lies. It is invalid and unacceptable because when the truth is completely different, it proves the personal mistake of killing and transferring the responsibility to the on-site order.”
China has previously called for an international investigation into the incident.
The IDF report on Sunday said that due to his responsibilities in the field and “providing incomplete and inaccurate reports during the reporting period”, the deputy commander of the Golani Brigade will be dismissed. The military said another commander who also operates in the region will be subject to disciplinary action for “the overall responsibility of the incident.”
According to the IDF, due to “night visibility”, soldiers fired fire at humanitarian workers traveling in ambulances and fire trucks, and then the soldiers breached the order, resulting in the death of the driver.
The body and vehicle were placed in a large sandy grave that was not accessible until a few days later when the UN retrieved team was unable to reach, after which UN medical staff were “killed one person” and two witnesses claimed that at least one victim had tied his hands and feet.
The results released last week by autopsy showed that the individuals were killed primarily by “shooting of the head and torso” and damage caused by explosives, and none of the victims showed signs of apparent restraint.
The military denied the “indiscriminate fire” in its report and insisted that the six killed were Hamas militants, accusing the humanitarian agency of involvement in denial. None of the people who were killed were armed.
During the 18 months of the war, Israeli forces killed hundreds of medical staff as well as staff from aid agencies in Gaza and from UN organizations. Last April, seven members of the Central Kitchen of Charity World died in the ongoing Israeli attack on its apparent vehicles.
Human rights groups have long accused the Israeli military of impunity and few soldiers face justice. In 2023, less than 1% of complaints against Israeli forces in the occupied Palestinian territory were reported, according to the latest annual human rights report from the U.S. State Department.
Researcher Dan Owen, who analyzed Army data from Israel’s human rights group Yesh Din, said the vast majority of incidents were not reported.
Related: Our aid workers were brutally killed and thrown into large-scale graves in Gaza. This will never happen again | Jagan Chapagain
The IDF has not yet made a Yesh Din request on the Freedom of Information Act based on the June 2024 Yesh Din request, which deals with the number of investigations and indictments suspected of harming civilians in the Gaza war.
Last August, the military said it had received about 1,000 complaints from lawyers and human rights groups related to the Gaza war and conducted 74 investigations. Four people involved the death of Palestinians detained in Israeli detention, eight charges of torture in prison, and the rest were related to property damage and theft.
