New footage has emerged which appears to contradict Israel’s account of why soldiers opened fire on a convoy of ambulances and a fire truck last month, killing 15 paramedics and rescue workers.
The video, published by the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS), shows the vehicles moving in darkness with headlights and emergency flashing lights switched on – before coming under fire. The PRCS said the video was obtained from the phone of a paramedic who was killed.
Eight Red Crescent personnel, six Civil Defence workers and a UN worker were killed in the shooting before dawn on 23 March by Israeli troops conducting operations in Tel al-Sultan, a district of the southern Gaza city of Rafah.
The Israeli military initially denied the vehicles had their headlights or emergency signals on, saying it opened fire on the vehicles because they were “advancing suspiciously” on nearby troops.
In a new statement on Saturday, the Israeli military told The Independent: “The event that occurred on March 23, 2025, is under thorough examination.
“All claims, including the documentation circulating about the incident, will be thoroughly and deeply examined to understand the sequence of events and the handling of the situation.
“Anyone with information or documentation related to the event is invited to submit it to the IDF to complete the examination.”
The military said the soldiers who opened fire had killed a number of Hamas and Islamic Jihad militants who were travelling in vehicles marked with the Palestinian Red Crescent signs.
It took days to gain access to the site where the emergency teams disappeared, according to the UN. One paramedic is still unaccounted for following the incident.
Israel has accused Hamas of moving and hiding its fighters inside ambulances and emergency vehicles, as well as in hospitals and other civilian infrastructure, arguing that this justifies strikes on them. Medical personnel largely deny these accusations.
Israeli strikes have killed more than 150 emergency responders from the Red Crescent and Civil Defence, most of them while on duty, as well as more than 1,000 health workers, according to the UN.
The Gaza war was triggered by a Hamas attack inside Israel on 7 October 2023, during which around 1,200 people were killed and another 250 people taken hostage. Israel’s retaliatory offensive in Gaza has killed 50,000 Palestinians according to the enclave’s health ministry and forced 90 per cent of its 2.3 million residents from their homes.
