The shelled convoy consisted of ambulances of the Palestinian Red Crescent, UN car and the fire truck of the Gazan Civil Defense.
Initially, the Israeli side claimed that the soldiers opened fire because the cars were approaching them in the dark without headlights or flashing lights. It was also claimed that the conversation of the convoy was not agreed with the army.
According to Israel's defense forces (IDF), at least six members of the medical services were associated with the Palestinian terrorist organization of Hamas, but no evidence has been presented so far. The army admitted that the soldiers opened fire to unarmed people.
Contradictory positions
Meanwhile, on the recording from the New York Times published by the newspaper, found at one of the dead, you can see that vehicles traveling in the convoy were turned on and were clearly marked. One can not hear that the opening of the fire by soldiers precedes the warnings on their part. The five -minute recording shows, among others Medical rescuer Refat Radwan refusing to pray, after which the voices of soldiers approaching vehicles are heard.
The IDF representative, cited on Saturday evening by the Times of Israel portal, presented a series of events, saying that on March 23 at 4.30 Soldiers fired at the car with three Hamas members. One of them was killed and the other two were captured. The car was left on the side of the road. When at approx. 6 Near the vehicle stopped by an ambulance convoy, the soldiers opened a fire to them.
According to the procedure, the soldiers buried 15 killed medical workers in the sand to protect them from wild animals. All vehicles were also buried.
The bodies of victims and ambulances were only discovered a week after this incident, because international organizations, including the UN, during this time could not obtain information from the Israeli army about where the shooting took place to organize a safe journey to this place and recover the bodies.
A representative of the Israeli army denied that one of the medics was handcuffed or shot at them from close distance.
The only medical rescuer Munther Abed survived in this attack confirmed in an interview with the BBC that the ambulances had the lights turned on and were marked. He denied that his colleagues had any connections with Hamas. According to his account, the soldiers pulled him out of the car and transported him with their eyes covered in the place where he was interrogated for 15 hours. Then he was released.
The army announced that he would examine the case thoroughly. Many international organizations, including the Palestinian red crescent, demand independent investigation.
Situation in the Gaza Strip
On March 18, Israel resumed attacks from the air and the land offensive in the Gaza Strip after the first phase of the weapon suspension agreement. Negotiations on the implementation of the second stage were sticked. According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, more than 1,000 have been killed in the Gaza Strip. 200 people.
The war in the Gaza Strip broke out after Hamas's attack to southern Israel on October 7, 2023. About 1,200 people were killed in it, and 251 was kidnapped. The Israeli army believes that 24 hostages remain in captivity and the bodies of 35 more are detained. From the beginning of the conflict, according to Palestinian authorities, over 50.6 thousand died in the Gaza Strip. people.
