47 in the dark with the medics clearly dressed in reflective clothing. It is agonising to watch. You see that Rifaat is running from his ambulance as the gunfire erupts. The screen then goes black but as he lies somewhere in the scrubland he continues to talk, his voice as he prays, cracked, frightened, disembodied.
ausdoc. com. au 20 JUNE 2025
47 in the dark with the medics clearly dressed in reflective clothing. It is agonising to watch. You see that Rifaat is running from his ambulance as the gunfire erupts. The screen then goes black but as he lies somewhere in the scrubland he continues to talk, his voice as he prays, cracked, frightened, disembodied.
His prayers are for forgiveness for his failings and his prayers are to affirm his belief in his god.
“ This is the path I chose— to help people,” he says, then quietly:“ The army has arrived.” Then the words stop. After the video was made public, the IDF announced that its original version of events had been“ mistaken” and promised to conduct an internal investigation into what happened.
PHOTO: UN
‘ Six of them were Hamas terrorists’
The findings of that investigation, led by Major General Yoav Har-Even, were announced on 20 April. 4
The IDF said the soldiers were conducting a“ vital anti-terrorist mission” and acted reasonably in a“ hostile and dangerous combat zone, under a widespread threat”.
But the first two attacks on the emergency vehicles were mistakes, it said.
A third attack on a UN vehicle that occurred 15 minutes later was deemed a breach of orders.
The Golani Brigade reconnaissance unit had also failed to fully report on the events, but the general’ s report asserted that the soldiers were unable to identify the vehicles as ambulances in the dark.
It also insisted that six of the 15 Palestinians killed were“ identified in a retrospective examination as Hamas terrorists”. The evidence for this claim was not provided, and it has not been provided since.
In April, it is worth stressing, Israel released one of the two survivors, Palestinian paramedic Asaad Al-Nsasrah who had spent a month in detention without charge. And the mass grave? The bulldozers?
The crushed vehicles?
“ At dawn, it was decided to gather and cover the bodies to prevent further harm and clear the vehicles from the route in preparation for civilian evacuation,” Major General Har-Even’ s report continued.
“ The body removal and vehicle crushing were carried out by field commanders.
“ The examination concluded that removing the bodies was reasonable under the circumstances, but the decision to crush the vehicles was wrong.
Rifaat Radwan.
Bodies recovered from the mass grave, 30 March.
“ In general, there was no attempt to conceal the event, which was discussed with international organisations and the UN, including co-ordination for the removal of bodies.”
It added that any suggestion that the medics had their hands and feet bound before being executed were“ blood libels and false accusations against IDF soldiers”, a blood libel being the anti-Semitic canard that Jewish people use the blood of non- Jews for evil rituals.
“ The examination found no evidence to support claims of execution or that any
of the deceased were bound before or after the shooting,” it read.
It said the unit’ s deputy commander, who has not been named, would be reprimanded and dismissed, as the mismanagement of the scene and inaccurate reporting happened under his watch.
“[ His ] commanders emphasised that the deputy commander of the Golani Reconnaissance Battalion is a highly respected officer, whose military service and personal story reflect a spirit of combat, volunteerism and great dedication.”
This investigation has failed to quell anger, but the deaths show the risks that healthcare workers— the doctors, the nurses, the paramedics and the support staff— take in this conflict.
Health worker death toll
These are the words from Article 24 of the
‘ The examination found no evidence of execution or that the deceased were bound before or after the shooting.’
Geneva Convention:“ Medical personnel exclusively engaged in the search for, or the collection, transport or treatment of the wounded or sick, or in the prevention of disease, staff exclusively engaged in the administration of medical units and establishments … shall be respected and protected in all circumstances.” 5
It is claimed that more than 1000 healthcare workers have been killed in the Palestinian territories in the past 17 months.
These estimates, made before the end of the ceasefire, come from the UN and Palestinian monitoring group Healthcare Workers Watch. 6
Last year, a UN inquiry concluded Israeli security forces had“ deliberately killed, wounded, arrested, detained, mistreated and tortured medical personnel and targeted medical vehicles, constituting the war crimes of wilful killing and mistreatment and the crime against humanity of extermination”. 7
It accused Israel of implementing a“ concerted policy to destroy the healthcare system of Gaza” in its war with Hamas, which the inquiry said had also committed war crimes— including torture, inhuman treatment, rape and sexual violence— against the Israeli hostages taken on 7 October 2023.
“ Israeli authorities carried out such acts while tightening the siege of the Gaza Strip, resulting in fuel, food, water, medicines and medical supplies not reaching hospitals, while also drastically reducing permits for patients to leave the territory for medical treatment,” the inquiry report added.
It went on to quote the WHO, which said between 7 October 2023 and 30 July last year, Israel had carried out 498 attacks on healthcare facilities in the Gaza Strip, with some 747 persons killed directly, 969 others injured and 110 facilities affected.
There is, however, a qualifier in the section of the Geneva Convention quoted above, and this is that the protection to which medical units and transports are entitled shall not cease unless they are used to commit hostile acts outside of their humanitarian function.
This has been Israel’ s explanation for its actions. In February last year, the IDF asserted its belief that more than 85 % of major medical facilities in Gaza were used by Hamas for terror operations. 8
There have been no deliberate killings of medical personnel, it says.
Its siege of Al-Shifa Hospital back in November 2023, weeks after Hamas murdered 1200 Israelis and foreign nationals and took 250 others hostage, was based on its belief that Hamas maintained command
Major General Yoav Har-Even.
centres or command“ nodes” below the hospital grounds. 9
It is important to stress that Israel refused to take part in the UN inquiry. It has long held the UN as a partial and biased player.
In response to the war crime accusations by the UN commission, it said it was an attempt to“ de-legitimise the very existence of the State of Israel and obstruct its right to protect its population, while covering up the crimes of terrorist organisations”. 10
“ This report shamelessly portrays Israel’ s operations in terror-infested health facilities in Gaza as a matter of policy against Gaza’ s health system, while entirely dismissing overwhelming evidence that medical facilities in Gaza have been systematically used by Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad for terrorist activities.”
The most prominent medical aid organisation in Gaza, at least in much of the Australian coverage, remains Médecins Sans Frontières( MSF).
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