The Israeli military has dismissed a deputy commander following an internal investigation into the killing of 15 aid workers in Gaza.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said the probe revealed “several professional failures, breaches of orders, and a failure to fully report the incident” during the March 23 attack.
The deputy commander of the Golani Reconnaissance Battalion has been fired for giving an “incomplete and inaccurate report during the debrief.”
The commanding officer of the 14th Brigade will receive a reprimand “for his overall responsibility for the incident, including the procedure of combat and management of the scene afterward.”
Israeli troops opened fire on a convoy of ambulances and aid vehicles in Tel al Sultan, a district in Rafah, southern Gaza.
Eight Red Crescent workers, six civil defense personnel, and one UN staff member were killed.
Their bodies were later found in a shallow grave, buried along with the vehicles.
Initially, Israel claimed the vehicles had no emergency signals.
However, a Sky News investigation released earlier this week contradicted that account.
Mobile phone footage recovered from one of the medics showed ambulances with red lights flashing and clear emergency insignia.
The medic, later found dead with a bullet to the head, is heard in the video saying there are Israelis nearby and reciting a declaration of faith often said before death.
In a Sunday statement, an IDF spokesperson said the troops had been on high alert after firing on what they believed was a Hamas vehicle about an hour earlier.
Later, five vehicles approached the area quickly and stopped near the troops.
“Supporting surveillance” reported people disembarking rapidly.
The deputy battalion commander believed the vehicles were used by Hamas fighters coming to assist the earlier group.
“Under this impression and sense of threat, he ordered to open fire,” the IDF said.
The military now claims six of the 15 killed were “identified in a retrospective examination as Hamas terrorists.”
Sky News found no evidence to support that claim, and Israel has not released any new proof.
“Only later, after approaching the vehicles and scanning them, was it discovered that these were indeed rescue teams,” the spokesperson stated.
A separate incident 15 minutes later saw Israeli troops fire at a Palestinian UN vehicle.
The IDF admitted this was a “breach of orders” and an “operational error.”
After the shootings, the bodies and vehicles were bulldozed and buried.
The IDF said this was to “prevent further harm” and to clear the road for civilian evacuation.
While the removal of bodies was deemed “reasonable under the circumstances,” the decision to crush the vehicles was found to be wrong.
“The examination found no evidence to support claims of execution or that any of the deceased were bound before or after the shooting,” the military stated.
“There was no attempt to conceal the event.”
According to the IDF, “The fire in the first two incidents resulted from an operational misunderstanding by the troops, who believed they faced a tangible threat from enemy forces.”
“The third incident involved a breach of orders during a combat setting.”
The military added: “Israel’s military regrets the harm caused to uninvolved civilians.”
(Sky News)
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