Days after the United Nations accused Israel of killing 15 humanitarian employees in Gaza, officers who recovered the our bodies or carried out the autopsies mentioned a number of the rescue employees have been shot a number of occasions earlier than being buried in a mass grave.
The Palestine Pink Crescent Society, which had eight of its members killed and carried out the restoration mission, mentioned that almost all 15 our bodies confirmed gunshot wounds, in response to a spokeswoman, Nebal Farsakh. One paramedic was discovered along with his arms and ft tied towards his physique, Ms. Farsakh mentioned.
“My colleagues have been shot; the our bodies who have been retrieved, lots of them have a number of gun pictures. We discovered all of them thrown in a mass grave, the our bodies have been put subsequent to one another and lined with sand,” mentioned Ms. Farsakh in a phone interview from Ramallah.
The deaths of the help employees, who first went lacking on March 23, have drawn worldwide condemnation in current days.
On that day, within the southern Gaza metropolis of Rafah, ambulances and a U.N. car got here underneath assault from Israel’s army, then went silent. On Sunday, rescue groups discovered 15 our bodies, most in a shallow mass grave together with their crushed ambulances and the car marked with the U.N. emblem. The United Nations, which is usually cautious about assigning blame, accused Israel of killing them.
An Israeli army spokesman, Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani, mentioned on X on Monday that 9 of these killed have been Palestinian militants. He mentioned Israeli forces “didn’t randomly assault” an ambulance, however that a number of automobiles “have been recognized advancing suspiciously” with out headlights or emergency alerts towards Israeli troops, prompting them to shoot.
“When Hamas terrorists function in energetic fight zones — whereas utilizing humanitarian automobiles as cowl, launching rockets from hospitals and stealing support — Israel will do no matter it takes to guard its troopers and residents,” mentioned Jonathan Harounoff, a spokesman for Israel’s mission to the U.N.
Dr. Ahmad Dhair, a forensic skilled on the Nasser hospital within the Gazan metropolis of Khan Younis, examined 5 our bodies belonging to the humanitarian employees on Monday. He mentioned in a phone interview from Gaza that he had discovered a number of bullet wounds in 4 of the our bodies and a few appeared shot at shut vary. The fifth was decomposed past recognition, Dr. Dhair mentioned.
He plans to look at the remainder of the our bodies on Thursday. One of many 4 had bruises on the wrist with linear marks on the pores and skin, Dr. Dhair mentioned, including that additional investigations have been required to find out if any of the victims had been tied up.
“A few of them have been shot within the head from behind,” Dr. Dhair mentioned. He mentioned he additionally noticed gunshot wounds within the torso and the chest, including that the shoulder and elbow joints have been additionally focused.
Dr. Dhair’s evaluation was first reported in The Guardian.
Two senior U.N. officers and a senior official from the Worldwide Federation of Pink Cross and Pink Crescent Societies confirmed they’d seen experiences from colleagues on the bottom who took half within the restoration mission that indicated the humanitarian employees had been shot. The officers requested to not be named as a result of they weren’t approved to remark publicly.
The United Nations in New York on Wednesday additionally gave extra particulars of what occurred on March 23, saying the assault was a grave violation of legal guidelines defending humanitarian employees in battle zones. The group referred to as for an unbiased investigation.
Jonathan Whittall, the pinnacle of U.N.’s humanitarian company for the Palestinian territories, mentioned that each one the paramedics, members of the Palestine Pink Crescent Society and the Civil Protection, have been nonetheless sporting their uniforms and gloves once they have been discovered. They’d been touring in marked automobiles and had not posed a risk to anybody, he added.
“They have been being dispatched into Rafah as Israeli forces have been advancing into the world. The ambulances have been hit one after the other as they superior, as they entered into Rafah,” mentioned Mr. Whittall, who participated within the rescue operation and was among the many group who discovered the our bodies.
Ms. Farsakh mentioned the humanitarian employees had not carried any weapons and had been dispatched to help wounded civilians caught in Israeli strikes.
One member of the Palestine Pink Crescent Society continues to be lacking. And one different, who was using within the first ambulance, was detained by the Israeli army and later launched, Ms. Farsakh mentioned. He recounted that Israel sprayed the ambulances with heavy gunfire, and two of his colleagues sitting within the entrance have been killed, Ms. Farsakh mentioned.
Ms. Farsakh mentioned along with their subject findings and witness testimony indicating that Israel killed the help employees, one of many paramedics in an ambulance referred to as the dispatch middle whereas they have been underneath assault, reporting that the Israeli army had opened hearth on their convoy and all of them have been injured.
