A video recovered from the mobile phone of a Palestinian medic killed alongside 14 colleagues in Gaza last month challenges the Israeli military’s account. The video, found on the deceased Rifat Radwan’s phone and released by the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS), captures the final moments of the medics who were shot at by Israeli forces in Rafah’s Tal as-Sultan neighborhood on March 23. The medics, dressed in highly reflective uniforms and inside a clearly identifiable PRCS ambulance, were responsiveness for emergency calls due to an Israeli bombardment.
The Israeli military had previously stated that their soldiers did not randomly attack ambulances but fired on “terrorists” in “suspicious vehicles” without headlights or emergency signals. The video and eyewitness accounts suggest otherwise, showing the vehicles stopping and the medics being shot despite no signs of immediate threats.
Eight PRCS workers, six members of the Palestinian Civil Defence agency, and an UNRWA employee were killed that day. Their bodies were found in what the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) described as a mass grave near Rafah.
The video footage, filmed from a moving vehicle, begins with a convoy driving through the night, including a red firetruck and ambulances. The medics exit, and after a brief moment, gunfire erupts. The voices of two medics are heard, discussing the situation as if it might be an accident. The medic recording can later be heard reciting the Shahada, the Islamic declaration of faith, amid gunfire, indicating fear and acceptance of his fate. He also apologizes to his mother and accepts his martyrdom.
The PRCS and Gaza’s civil defence spokesperson, Mahmoud Bassal, reported that several members of their team were found with bound hands and feet, bearing visible bullet wounds on their heads and torsos, suggesting execution after being identified as humanitarian workers. One had been decapitated, and the bodies were found in pieces.
Jonathan Whittall, the head of OCHA in the Palestinian territory, confirmed the bodies were found in their uniforms, still wearing gloves.
An Israeli military official stated that the bodies were covered “in sand and cloth” for protection until arrangements could be made for their retrieval; the military also claimed to be investigating the incident.
Gaza’s Government Media Office condemn the incident as a “brutal and unprecedented” execution of medical and civil defence teams, labeling it “another crime added to the occupation’s black record”. They demand an international investigation committee to address the Israeli military’s targeting of paramedics in Rafah.
Palestinian group Hamas accused the Israeli military of engaging in “systematic targeting of humanitarian personnel” which, under international law, “constitutes premeditated murder”. They urged the international community to seek justice for these victims.
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, condemned the attack and expressed concern over possible “war crimes”. He called for an “independent, prompt, and thorough investigation” by the UN Security Council. According to UNRWA, at least 408 aid workers, including over 280 UNRWA staff, have been killed by Israeli forces in Gaza since the conflict began in October 2023, with more than 50,000 Palestinians, predominantly children and women, losing their lives.
Source: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/4/5/unprecedented-video-shows-last-moments-of-gaza-medics-killed-by-israel?traffic_source=rss
