Israeli navy admits ‘skilled failures’ in killing of 15 medics in Gaza

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The Israeli navy has admitted to “skilled failures” and stated it might sack an officer, after an incident by which its forces killed 15 unarmed emergency employees in southern Gaza final month.

Israeli forces shot lifeless the paramedics and first responders within the early hours of March 23, earlier than crushing the ambulances, fireplace truck and UN car by which that they had been travelling. They then buried the lifeless in a shallow grave.

The Palestine Purple Crescent Society — for whom eight of the lifeless labored — described the killings as a “bloodbath”. Volker Türk, the UN’s excessive commissioner for human rights, stated the incident raised “additional issues over the fee of conflict crimes by the Israeli navy”.

The Israeli navy stated on Sunday that its investigation had recognized “a number of skilled failures, breaches of orders, and a failure to totally report” what had occurred.

But it surely denied an try to cowl up, and stated troops had not fired indiscriminately or executed any of the lifeless, Along with the Purple Crescent paramedics, the victims included six members of Gaza’s civil defence and one UN employee.

The Israel Protection Forces has needed to change a number of parts of its account of what occurred after particulars emerged contradicting its earlier variations.

The IDF initially claimed its troopers had fired on the convoy as a result of it was shifting “suspiciously in the direction of [Israeli] troops” and “with out prior co-ordination and with out headlights or emergency indicators”.

Nevertheless, it admitted this declare was inaccurate after footage recovered from the cell phone of one of many lifeless paramedics confirmed that the ambulances and fireplace engine had been clearly marked and, after they got here underneath fireplace, had their lights and emergency indicators on.

The IDF stated on Sunday {that a} commanding officer could be reprimanded, whereas a deputy commander could be dismissed.

Main-Normal Yoav Har-Even, who carried out the investigation, stated a part of the rationale the deputy commander had been dismissed was “errors” in his account of the killings.

The IDF stated the killings had taken place in three incidents throughout the house of a few hours. First, troops opened fireplace on an ambulance that they had misidentified as a Hamas car. Then they fired on a convoy of ambulances and a hearth truck that had come to seek out the folks killed within the first incident. Lastly, they fired on a UN car that arrived on the scene.

“The examination decided that the fireplace within the first two incidents resulted from an operational misunderstanding by the troops, who believed they confronted a tangible menace from enemy forces. The third incident concerned a breach of orders throughout a fight setting,” the navy stated.

Har-Even confirmed that not one of the folks killed had been armed and that no weapons had been discovered.

Nevertheless, the navy once more alleged, with out offering proof to help its declare, that six of the victims had been Hamas militants. It didn’t title any of them.

It had beforehand claimed {that a} militant referred to as Mohammad Shubaki had been killed within the incident, earlier than having to drop this declare after it grew to become clear that he was not among the many lifeless.

An official stated the wrong declare was primarily based on a mistaken identification by field-intelligence operatives that was corrected by extra senior officers.

The Purple Crescent stated final week {that a} paramedic who survived the assault was being held in Israeli custody. The navy confirmed on Sunday that this was the case, however didn’t present additional particulars.

The Israeli offensive in Gaza has to date killed greater than 51,000 folks, in response to Palestinian officers, in addition to making a humanitarian disaster.

Israel launched the offensive in response to Hamas’s October 7, 2023 assault, throughout which militants killed 1,200 folks, in response to Israeli officers, and took 250 hostage.