15 Gaza paramedics were shot and killed in ‘misunderstanding’, Israel finds

Israeli troops opened fire on a convoy of ambulances and a UN car because an officer felt they were a threat, the investigation found

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A Palestinian Red Crescent vehicle in the West Bank. Photo: APA Images via Zuma Press Wire / dpa

Published: 10:45pm, 20 Apr 2025Updated: 9:32am, 21 Apr 2025

The Israeli military on Sunday acknowledged professional failures and violations of orders in its review of last month’s killing of 15 emergency workers in Gaza but said there was no attempt to conceal the incident, despite dismissing a field commander for providing an inaccurate report.

The paramedics and other rescuers were shot dead on March 23 near the southern Gaza city of Rafah and buried in a shallow grave where their bodies were found a week later by officials from the United Nations and the Palestinian Red Crescent.

A commanding officer is to be reprimanded and a deputy commander dismissed over the incident, the military said.

It did not say if anyone would face criminal charges.

“We’re saying it was a mistake, we don’t think it’s a daily mistake,” Major General Yoav Har-Even, head of the investigation, told journalists when asked if he thought the incident represented a pervasive issue within the Israeli military.

Palestinians mourn Red Crescent medical staff at Nasser hospital in Khan Younis, southern Gaza, on March 31. Photo: Reuters

“The examination identified several professional failures, breaches of orders, and a failure to fully report the incident,” the military said in a statement.