After the discovery of a mass grave of 15 Palestinians, including members from the Palestinian Red Crescent Society, Palestinian Civil Defence, and the UN, video footage that was also uncovered highly contradicts the claims by the Israeli military.
The bodies were found after a week, with one of them being tied at the hands, which does not match the Israeli claim that no one was executed at close range.
The Israeli military’s claim was that they fired on “terrorists” who were approaching them in “suspicious vehicles”. They also stated that these bodies were buried in the sand to protect them from wild animals, and their vehicles were moved and buried to clear the roads.
However, when this mass grave was unearthed, the mobile phone of Refat Radwan was also found and the video footage on it, dating back to March 23, tells a different story from what the Israeli soldiers claimed. It is important to note that the graves were uncovered by international agencies, including the UN, because they could not find safe passages to the area.
The grave contained eight Palestinian Red Crescent society members, six Palestinian civil defence members, and a United Nations employee.
The recovered video shows the outside of a moving vehicle, a firetruck, and an ambulance that are clearly marked and have flashing emergency lights on. Two medics in uniforms get out after the vehicles in front stop, only to be interrupted by intense gunfire. The screen soon goes blank, and Refat can be heard reciting the Islamic declaration of faith, which is recited when death is imminent. Refat can also be heard asking his mother for forgiveness for choosing this path, of helping people.
The video disproves Israeli claims as the vehicles were clearly identifiable by their emergency lights, and the uniformed men were also clearly identifiable, with no proof of being armed or being a threat. After the footage was released, they revoked their claims, saying the official behind the claims was “mistaken” and that they were investigating what had happened.
According to Mahmoud Bassal, Gaza’s civil defence spokesperson, some of the recovered bodies were bound at the feet and hands, had several gunshot wounds to the head and torso, and one was even decapitated, with the other body parts cut up.
Jonathan Whittall, head of United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs(OCHA) in Palestine, stated that the medics and humanitarian workers, some of whom he had met before, were buried still in their uniform complete with medical gloves, “ready to save lives.”
Volker Turk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, criticized the killings, raising concern about the Israeli military committing possible war crimes and calling for “independent, prompt and thorough” investigations. For reference, the Geneva Convention Protection states that knowingly firing at medics in clear uniforms is a war crime, and the video shows the medics in reflective uniforms and clearly marked vehicles with flashing lights that cannot be “mistaken”.
The Israeli military also stated via Israeli media that six out of the 15 killed were from militant groups and that they had also identified one of the corpses to be of Mohammad Amin Shobaki, a Hamas member. But they have provided no evidence for these claims, and their methods of identification remain unknown due to “classified information”. So these claims of anyone other than medics and aid workers being in the vehicles have no evidence to back them up.
The United Nations and the Palestinian Red Crescent have urged for independent and immediate investigation into these killings. Family members and colleagues of the deceased also demand the same. In response to the video, Red Crescent stated that “this was neither a random incident nor an individual error, but rather a series of deliberate attacks”.
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) stated that since October 7th, 408 aid workers have been killed in Palestine, with 280 being from within the UNRWA staff. A report by the UN Human Rights Office raises concerns over Israel’s disregard for International Law.
International Humanitarian Law (IHL) protects all medical personnel and hospitals, unless they cause harm. IHL specifically aims to protect civilians in war-torn countries by setting them apart from combatants. In this case, the 15 killed were civilians who were supposed to be protected if Israel had maintained IHL conduct. Killing unarmed civilians is clearly outlined as a war crime under IHL. The penalty for committing war crimes follows a broad range of consequences from imprisonment to capital punishment.
So, unless Israel can prove the existence of a militant group or Hamas member among the 15 deceased who were in reflective uniform and in vehicles with flashing emergency lights, they have undeniably broken International Humanitarian Laws.
