Israel on Sunday said “professional failures” were made after the in the Gaza Strip last month.
The paramedics were killed early on March 23, when the Israeli military opened fire on ambulances near the southern city of Rafah.
With the incident sparking international criticism, Israel had ordered an internal investigation into the deaths.
The probe found no evidence to “support claims of execution,” according to the Israeli military.
What did Israel find in its probe of the killing?
“The examination identified several professional failures, breaches of orders and a failure to fully report the incident,” the Israel Defense Forces said.
The Israeli military said an “operational misunderstanding by the troops” occurred during the killings and added that there was also a “breach of orders during a combat setting.”
“Poor night visibility” also played a role in the shooting, according to the report.
said a commanding officer would be remanded and a deputy commander dismissed because of the incident. The report did not say whether anyone would face criminal charges.
The Israeli investigation said six of the victims in the killing were members of Hamas, but did not provide evidence to back up this claim. , which runs the Gaza Strip, is designated as a terrorist organization by Israel, the US and several other countries.
Paramedic killings spark controversy
The bodies of the of the Palestinian paramedics had been found in a shallow grave by the UN and the Palestinian Red Crescent. Eight Red Crescent workers, six Palestinian Gaza civilian defense rescue agency employees and a UN staffer were among the people killed. The killings sparked anger and condemnation from the UN and human rights organizations such as Amnesty International.
The Red Crescent had said the paramedics were “targeted at close range” in the killing. Israel said there was no evidence to “support claims of execution or that any of the deceased were bound before or after the shooting.”
Israel had earlier claimed that the ambulances transporting the paramedics were driving at night unmarked without their lights on.
Later, the Red Crescent retrieved a mobile phone that belonged to one of the paramedics who had died. Mobile phone footage clearly showed the ambulances with blue lights flashing at the time of the shooting.
Palestinian paramedic Munther Abed, who survived the Israeli gunfire, also told news outlets that clearly marked ambulances were being fired upon by Israel. He was detained by Israel after the attack and later released.
Hundreds of aid workers in Gaza killed since October 2023
It’s not the first time that Israel has attacked aid workers during its military campaign in Gaza.
In April 2024, belonging to the World Central Kitchen in Gaza, killing seven people and from leaders such as US President Joe Biden. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had called the World Central Kitchen attack unintended and “tragic.”
According to the United Nations, at least 412 aid workers have been killed in the Gaza Strip since October 2023, when Israel’s military campaign began .
wd/dj (Reuters, AP, AFP, dpa)
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