After 15 Palestinian rescue workers were found in a mass grave, a video obtained by The New York Times shows Gazan ambulances with their emergency lights on under intense gunfire. The IDF claimed that several vehicles had approached the soldiers ‘suspiciously’ without emergency signals
Haaretz
A video obtained by the New York Times, found on the mobile phone of a paramedic whose body was discovered in a mass grave alongside 15 aid workers killed by Israeli gunfire in Gaza on March 23, shows that, contrary to Israel’s claims, the ambulances and fire trucks carrying the workers were clearly marked and had their emergency lights on when Israeli forces fired at them
An IDF spokesman had previously said that Israeli forces did not ‘randomly attack’ an ambulance and that some vehicles ‘were identified as moving suspiciously’ without lights or emergency signals towards the soldiers – who then fired in response.
The video was provided by a senior UN diplomat who requested anonymity and had a verified location and timestamp, The New York Times said.
In late March, the bodies of 15 rescue workers were found in a mass grave. Contact had been lost with multiple teams who went to the site one after the other. One rescuer on site told Haaretz that one was found with his legs bound, and Gaza’s Hamas-run Health Ministry said that other workers were found with their hands tied.
The nearly seven-minute recording had been presented by the Red Cross to the UN Security Council on Friday, The Times said. The Red Cross told The Times that the paramedic whose phone contained the video had been shot in the head but did not disclose his name.
In the video, at least two rescue workers can be seen wearing uniforms, and the ambulance is marked with the emblem of the Red Crescent. After rescue workers exited the vehicles, intense gunfire can be heard for five minutes. A man says in Arabic that there are Israelis present.
Upon the release of the video, the IDF issued a statement denying claims that the 15 aid workers were ‘executed’ or tied up. It also said that the ambulances passed through an ambush planned by the forces and that they killed one member of the Hamas police and wounded two more, though it has yet to provide evidence to prove those claims.
The IDF added that the workers descended from the vehicles quickly, which raised the suspicion of the soldiers who opened fire, killing all the aid workers from a distance.
The IDF repeated its often-used claim that Hamas uses ambulances and emergency vehicles to move around the Gaza Strip.
However, during the video obtained by the New York Times, the shots can be heard approaching closer, and at some point, the voices of the IDF soldiers can also be heard. The body of the paramedic filming the video was later found with a bullet wound in the head.
Regarding the burial of the bodies and the vehicles in the sand, the IDF said this is common practice, meant to prevent animals from approaching the bodies. The IDF also denies the claims that they mutilated the bodies.
IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir also ordered that the incident be ‘investigated internally’ by the unit that is deployed when there are suspicions of war crimes.
To this day, there have been dozens of incidents sent to this internal unit, with no known reprimands or punishment issued against IDF soldiers.
Munther Abed, a 27-year-old Red Crescent volunteer, told The Guardian that he was in the first ambulance to arrive at the site of the Israeli airstrike. He said he had been volunteering that morning at a hospital in the al-Mawasi area on the coast, and that the call to respond to the attack came shortly after dawn.
About 20 minutes later, Abed and two other crew members arrived and immediately came under heavy fire on their vehicle. ‘The door opened, and there they were – Israeli special forces in military uniforms, armed with rifles, green lasers and night-vision goggles,’ Abed told the Guardian. ‘They dragged me out of the ambulance, keeping me face down to avoid seeing what had happened to my colleagues.’ They then stripped him and bound his hands behind his back, Abed says.
‘They threw me on the ground, and the interrogation began. I endured severe torture, including beatings, insults, death threats, and choking, and one soldier pressed his rifle to my neck,’ Abed said. ‘Another soldier held a dagger to my left shoulder. After a while, an officer arrived and ordered the soldiers to stop, calling them ‘crazy people’ who didn’t know how to communicate.’
Despite being thrown to the ground, Abed managed to see what was happening: heavy fire was directed at every additional aid vehicle that arrived.
‘During this time, I noticed a civil defence vehicle [a rescue organization belonging to the Interior Ministry in the Gaza Strip] and another ambulance approaching. As they neared, both were met with intense gunfire from the Israeli forces that lasted for about five minutes,’ he said. ‘I could only see the red lights of the ambulances and hear the sound of gunfire.’
According to him, in the minutes that followed, three more ambulances arrived, and Israeli forces also fired at them.
As the sun began to rise, he said, he was able to see the surroundings more clearly. ‘Tanks, quadcopters and drones came. The area was completely surrounded, and a large Israeli bulldozer and excavator arrived. They began digging a massive hole and threw the ambulances and civil defence vehicle into it, burying them and covering the hole.’
According to a source who participated in the body recovery and spoke with Haaretz, the IDF marked the location where the vehicles were buried and where the bodies were interred – and also told the recovery teams to bring digging tools with them to the site.
Abed denied the army’s version that the ambulance lights were off. ‘The ambulance’s lights were clearly on, and the Red Crescent logo was visible as we headed to the scene,’ he said. The IDF described the area as a military zone, but Abed claimed that the area in question, Tel al-Sultan neighborhood – Hashashin – was ‘a civilian area where daily life had been going on as usual, not a designated combat zone.’
The army also claimed to have killed nine Hamas and Islamic Jihad militants in the incident, but no additional bodies were found in the mass grave.
Abed insists that no militants were traveling with them in the ambulances.
Abed was held by the army for hours, during which time he recounts being completely stripped, beaten, and interrogated about his past. Later, he said, he was forced to assist in interrogating and photographing local residents, who were ordered to leave the area and relocate to al-Mawasi.
Some of the women were carrying their children who had been killed. One mother carried her child, who had been shot in the chest and killed. Another mother carried her daughter, who had also been shot in the chest. Another girl carried their sister, who had been shot in the foot.’
Abed said that the women were allowed to pass, but the men were not.
‘I began directing the men, bringing five at a time to stand in front of the camera,’ Abed explained. ‘Some of them passed without incident, but others were taken, dressed in white, and placed in a large hole. I still don’t know what happened to them.’
Abed was released only in the evening. He said that his watch and underwear were returned, but not his ID card, paramedic uniform, or shoes. He was told to walk toward al-Mawasi, but eventually managed to flag down a passing Red Crescent vehicle and get a ride. According to him, he is still suffering from the pain of the beatings he endured, and his mental state is ‘shattered.’
Abed has volunteered with the Red Crescent since he was 18, but began working with the ambulance teams only at the start of the war.
‘We entered this field out of love, despite the dangers that surround it and the risk we face during missions,’ he said.
‘We no longer find it surprising when someone is killed,’ Abed said. ‘Anyone can be targeted as we are dealing with an occupying force that disregards international laws and treaties,’ he added.
‘Every mission we go on feels like it might be the last.’
At a press conference at the UN headquarters on Friday, Palestine Red Crescent Society said that the evidence they collected, including the video and forensic evidence, contradicted the IDF version of events.
Dr. Younis Al-Khatib, the president of the Palestine Red Crescent Society, and his deputy, Marwan Jilani, told reporters that ‘Their bodies have been targeted from a very close range.’ Khatib added that Israel did not provide information on the missing medics’ whereabouts for days.
‘They knew exactly where they were because they killed them,’ he said.
According to the bodies’ recovery teams, an IDF engineering vehicle buried the bodies along with the vehicles they were traveling in under two large piles of sand, with a rotating emergency light from one of the rescue vehicles placed atop one of the mounds.
According to the IDF, the soldiers fired at the vehicles, killing Hamas and Islamic Jihad members, including a member of Hamas’s military wing – Mohammad Amin Ibrahim Shubaki.
According to a statement from the Red Crescent organization, the Red Crescent victims are ‘Mostafa Khufaga, Saleh Muamer and Ezzedine Shaath and first responder volunteers Mohammad Bahloul, Mohammed Al-Heila, Ashraf Abu Labda, Raed Al Sharif and Rifatt Radwan.’
The fate of the Red Crescent volunteer Asad Al-Nasrah remains unknown, but Abed said he saw him alive, detained by the soldiers. Al-Nasrah has not been seen since.
The Song That Never Ends About The Event That Never Happened is just as much a LIE and HOAX like they LIE TODAY. How about some soap or lampshades made from jew skin? NASTY LIARS.
This is being covered by all sorts of international media. However, its not being covered by the US corporate media at all. That tells you all you need to know.