Cnn
–
The Israeli army claims that “professional failures” led to the murder of 15 paramedical paramedics and the first stakeholders during an incident in Gaza in March, according to a survey published on Sunday.
The group – most of which worked for Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) – were killed before being buried in a serious mass, arousing an international conviction.
The Israeli investigation has identified several failures during the incident, as well as the violations of the orders and the non-report of the incident, the Israeli defense forces (FDI) said in a statement.
The FDI said that the troops did not engage in a “blind fire” during the incident, but they opened fire on what they believed to be a “tangible threat” in the midst of what the army called “operational misunderstandings”.
Following the investigation, the commander of the 14th brigade received a reprimand letter, while the deputy commander of the Golani recognition battalion involved in the incident was rejected from his post. The FDI relieved the assistant commander because of his responsibility for the incident and the supply of an “incomplete and inaccurate report” on what happened.
“The FDIs regret the damage caused to undefined civilians,” a statement said.
“The existing protocols have been clarified and reinforced – emphasizing the need for increased caution during the operation near rescue forces and medical staff, even in high intensity combat areas.”
The troops opened fire three times on Sunday, March 23. During the first shooting, Israeli soldiers turned on a vehicle that said that the FDIs were identified as belonging to Hamas. Two Palestinians were killed and temporarily detained.
An hour later, the troops once again opened, this time, targeting the convoy of the Ambulances of the PRCs and civil defense vehicles, killing 15 people, according to the investigation.
Autopsy reports for the eight PRC doctors obtained by CNN show that most were killed by ball injury to the head or chest, while others have suffered from the torso of the force of an explosive injury. The bodies had started to break down after being buried in a mass tomb for more than a week.
Initially, the FDIs said that vehicles were driving with suspicion without headlights or emergency signals.
But the video of the mobile phone of one of the emergency stakeholders clearly showed that the convoy led to a single line and that the ambulances had their lights on. Despite the publication of the video, the FDI survey has always said it was difficult to identify the ambulances.
“Due to poor night visibility, the assistant commander has not initially recognized vehicles as ambulances,” said the FDI. “It was not until later, after approaching the vehicles and scanned them,” he discovered that they were indeed rescue teams. ”
The FDI said that six of the people killed were identified “in a retrospective examination like Hamas terrorists”, raising the question of whether the troops opened fire on the ambulances before knowing if there were activists among the vehicles. The soldiers did not identify which people killed thought they were terrorists or provided evidence.
About 15 minutes later, the troops opened fire on a United Nations Palestinian vehicle. The investigation concluded that this results from “operational errors” and “in violation of regulations”.
“The examination determined that the fire in the first two incidents results from an operational misunderstanding of the troops, who thought they had faced a tangible threat of enemy forces,” said the FDI. In his initial account of events, the Israeli army said that the two Palestinians killed during the first incident were members of Hamas. We do not know if Israel now returns to this assertion.
“The third incident involved a violation of orders during a combat framework,” said the IDF.
The bodies were then removed and buried in a mass grave with ambulances and other vehicles. The FDI defended the decision of the commanders on the ground to withdraw the bodies but recognized “the decision to crush the vehicles was wrong.”
“There was no attempt to conceal the event, which was discussed with international organizations and the UN, including coordination for the suppression of bodies,” said the FDI.
The PRCs refused to comment on the investigation.
Following the attack, the organization declared that the incident “cannot be considered as a war crime punishable by international humanitarian law, which the occupation continues to violate before the world”.
