Jerusalem:
Fifteen Palestinian paramedics were killed in a targeted strike at an ambulance in Southern Gaza last month, according to A. CNN The investigation that denies the explanation of the Israeli army incident.
Among the dead were 21-year-old volunteer paramedic Mohammad al-Hila, working with Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCs). Mohammad was missing from Tal al-Sultan in Rafa with several members of his team from 8 March after responding to an emergency call.
Their remains, along with others, were recovered from a collective grave last week, where 15 respondents were buried with their destroyed ambulances.
According to Mohammed’s father, Hasan Hasani al-Hila, a paramedic, his son managed to make a final call a few minutes before his death. “He was saying that ‘Come to me, father … help me. We were targeted by Israeli, and they are now shooting directly on us,” Hasan told CNN.
Hasan later participated in the recovery of his son’s body, found just 500 meters from his own PRCS Field Hospital.
The PRCS reported that the convoy included clearly marked ambulances, which affected all the Red Crescent symbol, and their emergency lights were turned on. The PRCS stated that they coordinated their route with the Israeli army through a dickyflusion process.
A paramedic – identified by PRCS as refutable Redwan – is repeatedly heard reciting ‘Shahda’, the Islamic declaration of faith by Muslims while facing death. In her final moments, Redwan is heard saying, “Forgive me mother, this is the way I have chosen – to help people – I swear that I do not choose this path, but to help people.”
Ashraf Abu Libda was part of the second PRCS dispatch sent to assist the first team. At 4:55 am, as soon as his convoy came into the fire, Libda called a colleague. In an audio recording obtained by CNN, he was heard saying, “There are soldiers, soldiers here.” In the background, a voice speaking Hebrew is clearly audible, saying, “Come, come, come.” Later, communication is cut.
A CNN analysis of video footage, satellite images and eyewitness testimony showed that the ambulances were running with their emergency lights, claiming that the vehicles had stopped their lights and were treating them suspicious.
A living paramedic, Munthhar Abed, got trapped inside a bullet-ridden ambulance. He told CNN, “I could not hear anything other than the voice of death from my colleagues, gasp, their last breath.” “A cry of pain, I have all heard this from them.”
Following the incident, Israeli officials suggested that medics may be militants, who may be disguised as emergency activists, a claim that PRC and many international organizations firmly rejected. The Israeli Defense Force (IDF) stated that it was reviewing the incident internal.
The World Health Organization (WHO) condemned the murders, saying that paramedics and ambulances were preserved under the International Human law. WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Gabreyus said that targeting health workers is a violation of international law and war can form a crime.
According to WHO, more than 420 health workers have been killed in Gaza since the onset of the war in October 2023, including clearly marked medical facilities and transport in several attacks.