A video recovered from the cell phone of a Palestinian medic killed together with 14 of his colleagues in Gaza final month contradicts Israeli claims.
The video – discovered on the cellphone of deceased Rifat Radwan and launched on Saturday by the Palestine Purple Crescent Society (PRCS) – reveals their ultimate moments because the Palestinian medics, carrying extremely reflective uniforms and inside a clearly identifiable PRCS ambulance, are shot at by Israeli forces in Rafah’s Tal as-Sultan neighbourhood in southern Gaza on March 23.
The Israeli army had stated its troopers “didn’t randomly assault” any ambulances, insisting they fired on “terrorists” approaching them in “suspicious autos”. It stated, “a number of uncoordinated autos have been recognized advancing suspiciously towards [Israeli army] troops with out headlights or emergency alerts”.
PRCS misplaced eight of its staff within the assault. Six members of the Palestinian Civil Defence company and an worker of the United Nations company for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, have been additionally killed that day.
Their our bodies have been discovered buried close to Rafah in what the UN Workplace for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) described as a mass grave.
What does the video present?
The video, apparently filmed from inside a transferring car, captures a crimson firetruck and ambulances driving by means of the night time.
The autos cease beside each other on the roadside, and two uniformed males exit. Moments later, intense gunfire erupts.
Within the video, the voices of two medics are heard – one saying, “The car, the car,” and one other responding: “It appears to be an accident.”
Seconds later, a volley of gunfire breaks out, and the display goes black.
The medic recording the scene can later be heard reciting the Islamic declaration of religion, the Shahada, which Muslims historically say within the face of dying. “There isn’t any God however God, Muhammad is his messenger,” he says repeatedly, his voice trembling with concern as intense gunfire continues within the background.
He’s additionally heard saying: “Forgive me mom as a result of I selected this manner, the best way of serving to folks.” He then says: “Settle for my martyrdom, God, and forgive me.”
Simply earlier than the video ends, he’s heard saying: “The Jews are coming, the Jews are coming,” apparently referring to Israeli troopers.
PRCS stated the convoy was dispatched in response to emergency calls from civilians trapped following an Israeli bombardment in Rafah.
In line with Gaza’s civil defence spokesperson Mahmoud Bassal, a number of members of their crew have been discovered with their fingers and ft certain and visual bullet wounds on their heads and torsos, suggesting they have been executed at shut vary after being recognized for his or her humanitarian work. One of many civil defence personnel had been decapitated, and the remaining our bodies have been present in items, he stated.
Jonathan Whittall, the pinnacle of OCHA within the Palestinian territory, stated the our bodies of the humanitarian staff have been “of their uniforms, nonetheless carrying gloves” once they have been discovered.
An Israeli army official stated the our bodies had been lined “in sand and fabric” to keep away from harm till coordination with worldwide organisations could possibly be organized for his or her retrieval. The army added that it was investigating the assault.
‘No parallel in fashionable historical past’
Israel “should be held accountable for its crimes, the likes of which haven’t any parallel in fashionable historical past,” a spokesperson for Gaza civil defence informed Al Jazeera on Saturday.
“We demand the formation of a world investigation committee into the occupation’s concentrating on of paramedics in Rafah,” the spokesperson stated, including that Palestinian rescue staff will proceed “to carry out their duties regardless of the occupation’s deliberate concentrating on of them”.
In a press release on Saturday, Gaza’s Authorities Media Workplace stated the Israeli army carried out a “brutal and unprecedented” execution of medical and civil defence groups, calling it “one other crime added to the occupation’s black file”.
It stated the video “utterly disproves the Israeli occupation’s false and deceptive narrative” that the autos approached “suspiciously” with out clear alerts.
Palestinian group Hamas on Saturday stated the “irrefutable visible proof shatters the occupation’s fabricated ‘suspicious motion’ lies, proving systematic concentrating on of humanitarian personnel and constituting a premeditated homicide beneath worldwide legislation”.
“We demand worldwide justice for the victims of this heinous crime,” it stated.
The UN Excessive Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Turk, additionally condemned the assault, elevating issues over potential “conflict crimes” by the Israeli army.
“I’m appalled by the latest killings of 15 medical personnel and humanitarian help staff, which elevate additional issues over the fee of conflict crimes by the Israeli army,” Volker Turk informed the UN Safety Council on Thursday, calling for an “impartial, immediate and thorough investigation”.
In line with UNRWA, at the very least 408 help staff, together with greater than 280 UNRWA workers, have been killed by Israeli forces in Gaza for the reason that conflict started on October 7, 2023. Since then, greater than 50,000 Palestinians, most of them kids and ladies, have been killed within the enclave.
