Footage reveals aid workers killed in Gaza under Israeli fire, debunking regime’s cla
Footage reveals aid workers killed in Gaza under Israeli fire, debunking regime’s claims
M.U.H
06/04/202538
Newly obtained footage has shed light on the killing of Palestinian aid workers in Gaza by Israeli forces under heavy gunfire, directly contradicting the regime’s earlier claims that the workers were “advancing suspiciously” without headlights or emergency signals.
Obtained and verified by The New York Times on Friday, the video recovered from the cellphone of a Palestinian paramedic, later found in a mass grave with 14 other aid workers in Gaza, showed clearly marked ambulances and a fire truck with emergency lights on coming under heavy Israeli gunfire in the southern city of Rafah on March 23.
The nearly seven-minute recording captures the convoy stopping to assist a damaged ambulance when gunfire erupts, hitting the rescue vehicles.
“Filmed from what appears to be the front interior of a moving vehicle, it shows a convoy of ambulances and a fire truck, clearly marked, with headlights and flashing lights turned on, driving south on a road to the north of Rafah in the early morning,” the paper said.
“The convoy stops when it encounters a vehicle that had veered onto the side of the road — one ambulance had been sent earlier to aid wounded civilians and had come under attack. The new rescue vehicles detour to the side of the road.”
The footage shows rescue workers, at least two of whom are wearing uniforms, exiting a fire truck and an ambulance marked with the emblem of the Red Crescent.
“Then, sounds of intense gunfire break out. A barrage of gunshots is seen and heard in the video hitting the convoy,” the paper said.
“The camera shakes, the video goes dark. But the audio continues for five minutes, and the rat-a-tat of gunfire does not stop. A man says in Arabic that there are Israelis present.”
Filming from inside one of the vehicles before being killed, the paramedic recites the Muslim declaration of faith, “There is no God but God, Muhammad is His messenger,” and says, “Forgive me, mother. This is the path I chose — to help people. Allahu akbar.”
The footage was presented on Friday to the UN Security Council by the Palestine Red Crescent Society during a press conference moderated by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.
Earlier this week, the Israeli military claimed that the regime’s forces did not “randomly attack” the ambulance but that several vehicles “were identified advancing suspiciously” without headlights or emergency signals toward Israeli troops, prompting them to shoot.
The deaths of the aid workers, who went missing on March 23, have drawn international scrutiny and condemnation in recent days, with the UN and the Palestine Red Crescent saying the aid workers were not carrying weapons and posed no threat.
The Israeli military launched a surprise aerial assault on the Gaza Strip on March 18, killing over 1,200 people, injuring more than 3,000 others, and shattering the ceasefire agreement with the resistance movement Hamas and the deal on the exchange of Israeli captives for Palestinian prisoners.
According to the Health Ministry in Gaza, more than 50,600 Palestinians have been killed, mostly women and children, and 115,063 other individuals have been injured in the brutal Israeli military onslaught on Gaza since October 7, 2023.
