Sun Apr 06 01:41:24 UTC 2025: ## Phone Video Contradicts Israeli Account of Gaza Medic Killings
**Gaza City, April 6, 2025** – Newly released video footage appears to contradict the Israeli military’s account of the March 23rd killing of 15 Palestinian medics in Rafah, Gaza. The video, recovered from the phone of a slain aid worker and shared with the UN Security Council, shows Red Crescent and Civil Defence vehicles clearly displaying emergency lights as they approached a previously attacked ambulance. The footage directly refutes Israeli claims that the vehicles lacked emergency signals.
The video, lasting over six minutes, depicts the medics’ vehicles coming under sustained gunfire for over five minutes. The recording includes the desperate pleas of the filming medic, who is heard praying and lamenting his fate. Three medics are shown exiting their vehicles to assist the damaged ambulance before the attack. The video ends abruptly amidst heavy gunfire and shouts in Hebrew.
A surviving paramedic, Munzer Abed, corroborated the video’s authenticity, confirming the events depicted. He also described being beaten and interrogated by Israeli soldiers after the attack. The UN has also verified the location depicted in the video.
The Israeli military, while stating the incident is under review, initially claimed the vehicles were “advancing suspiciously” without lights. A later statement admitted this was incorrect. However, the military maintains that the medics were killed because they were affiliated with Hamas. This claim is rejected by the UN and Palestinian officials who insist the victims were clearly identifiable emergency responders.
The head of the Palestinian Red Crescent Society, Younes Al-Khatib, and the UN have called for an independent investigation into the incident, expressing a lack of trust in any internal Israeli inquiry. One medic, Assaad al-Nassasra, remains missing, with the Red Crescent demanding information on his whereabouts from the Israeli military.
The incident has drawn international condemnation, adding to the already high number of emergency responders and healthcare workers killed in the ongoing conflict. The UN reports over 150 emergency responders and over 1,000 health workers killed in Israeli strikes. The Israeli military’s rare investigations into such incidents have failed to provide accountability. The release of the video is expected to intensify calls for a thorough and independent international investigation into the massacre.
First Piper 