Israeli army admits ‘operational misunderstanding’ after troops killed 15 Gaza medics | EUROtoday

The Israeli army has admitted “professional failures” and “breaches of orders” over the killing of 15 Palestinian medics in Gaza final month.

An investigation by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) into the incident on 23 March discovered the deaths of the help staff have been a results of an “operational misunderstanding”. A commanding officer is to be reprimanded and a deputy commander to be dismissed, the army stated.

The International Red Cross/Red Crescent referred to as it the deadliest assault on its personnel in eight years. Eight Red Crescent personnel, six Civil Defense staff and a UN worker have been killed when Israeli forces opened hearth on emergency autos in Tel al-Sultan, a district of the southern Gaza metropolis of Rafah.

Footage confirmed the convoy of autos, with lights flashing and logos seen, pulling as much as assist an ambulance that had come underneath hearth earlier – earlier than the autos got here underneath a barrage of gunfire that lasted greater than 5 minutes.

Israel first claimed the medics’ autos didn’t have emergency alerts on when troops opened hearth however later backtracked after the footage emerged from a useless medic’s telephone.

The Israeli army’s investigation discovered the deputy battalion commander assessed that the ambulances belonged to Hamas militants “due to poor night visibility”.

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The troopers then bulldozed over the our bodies together with their autos, burying them in a mass grave earlier than they have been later found by officers from the United Nations and the Palestinian Red Crescent.

The head of the Palestinian Red Crescent Society had claimed the killed medics have been “targeted at close range”. Night-vision drone footage supplied by the army exhibits troopers have been 20 to 30 metres away from the ambulances.

The Israel initially stated 9 of the 15 medics have been Hamas militants. But as a part of its investigation, the army now says, with out offering proof, that six of them have been “Hamas terrorists”. Hamas has rejected the accusation.

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The investigation additionally discovered that the choice to crush the ambulances was fallacious, however stated that it was not an try to hide the occasion.

Major General Yoav Har-Even, in control of the army’s investigative department, stated the our bodies and autos have been faraway from the street as a result of the army needed to make use of it for an evacuation route later that day.

No paramedic was armed and no weapons have been present in any car, Maj Gen Har-Even stated.

“The examination found no evidence to support claims of execution or that any of the deceased were bound before or after the shooting,” the report said.

Israel said a deputy commander would be dismissed for providing an “incomplete and inaccurate report” of the incident.

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The statement on the findings concluded by saying the Israel’s military “regrets the harm caused to uninvolved civilians”. The one survivor from the incident was detained for investigation and stays in custody for additional questioning.

Israel has beforehand accused Hamas of transferring and hiding its fighters inside ambulances and emergency autos, in addition to in hospitals and different civilian infrastructure. It argues that this justifies the strikes on them. Medical personnel deny the accusations.

Israeli strikes since 7 October 2023 have killed greater than 150 emergency responders from the Red Crescent and Civil Defense, most of them whereas on obligation, in addition to over 1,000 well being staff, in keeping with the United Nations.

Palestinians and worldwide human rights teams have repeatedly accused Israel’s army of failing to correctly examine misconduct by its troops.

Additional reporting by companies