The Israeli probe in a deadly shooting by soldiers 15 rescuers last month in Gaza claims that he found evidence of “professional failures” and the deputy commander will be released.
Israel initially claimed that Palestinian medicine vehicles did not have emergency signals when the soldiers opened fire but later withdrew. Video from a mobile phone recovered from one of the doctors seemed contrary to the initial Israel account.
Military investigation, published on Sunday, showed that the deputy commander of the battalion “due to poor night visibility” assessed that the ambulances belonged to Hamas fighters. The video material from the stage shows that ambulances had flashing lights and a logo when they stopped to help another ambulance, which was previously under fire.
The army stated that the initial investigation showed that “soldiers opened fire because of the perceived threat after the previous meeting in the area, and six people killed in this incident were identified as Hamas terrorists.”
He did not provide evidence that he determined that six were Hamas fighters, and the Islamist faction rejected the accusation.
Eight red crescent staff, six civil defense workers and an UN employee were killed by Israeli troops operating at Tel Al-Sultan, a Rafah district in southern Gaza, before dawn on March 23.
Then the soldiers asked over the bodies along with their drowning vehicles, burning their mass grave. The UN and rescuers could only get to the place a week later to dig the bodies.
The head of the Palestinian Society of the Red Crescent said that the killed men were “focused on close range.”
The Israeli military investigation stated that the Palestinians were killed because of the “operational misunderstanding” of the Israeli forces and that a separate incident 15 minutes later, when Israeli soldiers shot a Palestinian UN vehicle, was a violation of orders.
No medical rescuer was armed and no weapons were found in any vehicle, he told Gen Yoav Har-Rewinność, responsible for the Military Department of Investigators.
The UN and Palestinian Red Crescent demanded an independent investigation.
The Israeli investigation showed that the decision to crush ambulances was wrong, but it denied that an attempt was made to hide this event.
“The study did not show any evidence to support claims for enforcement or that any of the dead was associated before or after the shooting,” he added.
The commander is to be admonished for his “general responsibility for the incident”. The deputy commander rejected for providing a “incomplete and inaccurate report” of killings. It did not say if someone would face criminal charges.
Israel accused Hamas of moving and hiding his fighters in ambulances and rescue vehicles, as well as in hospitals and other civil infrastructure, arguing that he justifies their strikes. Medical staff largely denies the accusations.