Israeli commander sacked for ordering troops to fire on ambulances

Yahoo

20-04-2025

A deputy Israeli army commander has been sacked for ordering soldiers to fire on the 15 aid workers killed in Gaza last month.
A commander will also be reprimanded over an 'incomplete and inaccurate' report on the incident, the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said.
IDF soldiers shot and killed medical workers driving ambulances in the southern city of Rafah on March 23.
After the event, the IDF said its troops had been conducting a 'vital mission aimed at targeting terrorists' and had not known the vehicles were ambulances.
The soldiers were accused of binding and executing the workers, then crushing the ambulances to hide the evidence.
An IDF investigation into the incident has now identified 'several professional failures, breaches of orders, and a failure to fully report the incident'.
The investigators admitted that there had been operational flaws but said they did not find any evidence to support claims of execution or binding of victims before or after their killing.
Credit: Palestinian Red Crescent
'Such claims are blood libels and false accusations against IDF soldiers,' the army said in a press release.
The army said three shooting incidents took place that night. In the first, soldiers fired at a vehicle which they believed belonged to Hamas.
Around one hour later, the Golani reconnaissance battalion's deputy commander ordered troops to open fire on five further vehicles that he believed belonged to Hamas.
The IDF said in a statement on Sunday: 'Due to poor night visibility, the deputy commander did not initially recognise the vehicles as ambulances. Only later, after approaching the vehicles and scanning them, was it discovered that these were indeed rescue teams.'
The IDF maintains that six of the 15 Palestinians killed in the incident were members of Hamas. The Telegraph asked the IDF for any evidence to support this claim, but was referred to the investigators' report, which did not include any information about the victims' identity or alleged ties to Hamas.
A third shooting occurred 15 minutes later, when IDF forces fired at a Palestinian United Nations vehicle 'due to operational errors in breach of regulations'.
At dawn, the IDF's field commanders returned to the site of the shooting and covered the bodies 'to prevent further harm and clear the vehicles from the route in preparation for civilian evacuation'.
The army's investigation concluded that removing the bodies was 'reasonable under the circumstances, but the decision to crush the vehicles was wrong'.
'In general, there was no attempt to conceal the event, which was discussed with international organisations and the UN, including co-ordination for the removal of bodies,' the statement concluded.
The IDF also said that, throughout the operation, night vehicles and ambulances were allowed to move along the route 'without obstruction, since the forces did not perceive any threat posed by them'.
The army said it had also apprehended two pedestrians who 'raised suspicion' before releasing them a short while later.
'This indicates that the troops did not engage in indiscriminate fire but remained alert to respond to real threats identified by them,' the IDF claimed.
The IDF faced heavy criticism after initially claiming that the ambulances involved in the incident approached without headlights or flashing lights, and had failed to co-ordinate their movements with the army.
The New York Times later published a video showing the vehicles were clearly ambulances with flashing lights when the shooting began, contradicting the IDF's initial claim.
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