"Father, assist me... we fell victim to the Israeli forces": Recording reveals final moments of humanitarian workers slain in Gaza
Fresh Take:
In the wee hours of March 23, 22-year-old Mohammad, a devoted paramedic, found himself in a harrowing situation that would seal his fate. As he jumped on duty to cover his dad's shift with the Palestine Red Crescent Society, little did they know this would be their last encounter.
Mohammad was dispatched with a convoy of emergency vehicles to find a missing ambulance crew in Rafah, southern Gaza. Just a few hours into the mission, Mohammad phoned his father, pleading for aid as Israeli military gunfire assaulted them. The call ended abruptly, and Mohammad's fate remained unclear for over a week.
Upon discovering a horrifying scene - a mass grave filled with the remains of 15 first responders - rescue teams were finally able to determine Mohammad's fate. A accumulating body of evidence refutes the Israel Defense Forces' (IDF) initial theory of the incidents, which claimed, without any proof, that some vehicles were moving suspiciously without headlights or flashing lights towards Israeli troops and that members of the emergency teams were militants.
CNN corroborated the ground realities with video captures, photographs, satellite imagery, and interviews with forensic experts and family members, thereby providing a detailed account of the IDF's targeted and burial of clearly labeled rescue teams from the Palestinian Red Crescent Society, Civil Defense, and the United Nations.
The IDF initially claimed that troops from a brigade that had set up an ambush opened fire on the aid teams in the morning, suspecting their movements and believing they had successfully carried out an attack on Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad militants.
However, family members and colleagues of the deceased paramedics strenuously deny any affiliation with militant groups, instead demanding an unbiased investigation into the killings. Upon seeing his son's corpse, riddled with bullet holes, Hassan Hosni Al-Hila felt remorse for not being present during his son's final moments, confessing that they would have served together had he not returned home.
The chain of events commenced early in the morning on March 23, as reports of an Israeli strike in Rafah led the Palestine Red Crescent Society to dispatch an ambulance crew. The crew was targeted with heavy, direct gunfire by Israeli forces, which PRCS medic Munther Abed narrowly escaped after diving to the ambulance floor. Sadly, both of his colleagues in the front seat were killed.
Following communication breakdown with the crew, further ambulances accompanied by Civil Defense vehicles were sent to check. Alas, they too fell victim to the same grim fate. A newly released video discovered on the phone of one of the 15 deceased aid workers captured their final moments on camera.
The video, recorded from the front of an ambulance, shows certain marked ambulances traveling along a road at dawn, complete with headlights and flashing emergency lights. As they approach another vehicle that had crashed into a power pole, the convoy comes to a halt.
Trevor Ball, a former US Army senior explosive ordnance disposal team member, examined the video and asserted that the gunfire heard in it was consistent with small arms and light weapons. "Even while utilizing night vision, the lights from the vehicles in the convoy would be noticeable," Ball added.
The paramedic filming the incident, later identified as Rifaat Radwan, is heard reciting the shahada (Islamic statement of faith) as he believes his time has come. He expresses his sorrow to his mother and states, "I didn't choose this path; I only chose to help people."
As the convoy, also marked with the PRCS insignia, comes under fire, the audio continues for five minutes, painting a distressing picture of the attack. Another medic, Ashraf Abu Libda, made a call at 4:55 a.m. to a colleague as the convoy came under fire. An audio recording of the call, obtained by CNN, captures him saying the shahada before declaring, "Soldiers, soldiers are here."
The call contradicts the Israeli soldiers' storyline, who claimed the rescue convoy arrived two hours after the initial ambulance, at 6 a.m. The video also indicates that the convoy arrived in the dark, with the first rays of sunlight visible in the horizon, indicating it was filmed before 6 a.m. - sunrise on March 23 in Gaza was at 5:42 a.m.
Following the deadly attacks, Abed claimed that he witnessed the IDF's burial of the bodies and vehicles, noticing bulldozers digging a large pit, crushing the vehicles and stacking them inside. Satellite imagery from March 23, first published by Al Jazeera Arabic and analyzed by CNN, shows Israeli army vehicles surrounding five ambulances from the PRCS and Civil Defense. Bulldozer tracks and activity are visible in the image.
Several days later, PRCS and UN personnel finally gained permission from the Israeli military to access the site and excavate. The operation was successful in recovering a total of 15 bodies - eight members of PRCS, six from Civil Defense, and one UNRWA employee.
Photos and videos of the exhumation, reviewed by CNN and forensic experts, offer clues regarding the crews' visibility in their final moments. One PRCS medic, Asaad Al-Nassasrah, remains missing, and the organization has demanded information on his whereabouts from the Israeli military.
가장 공식적으로 Israel Defense Forces(IDF)가 발표한 created by me and highly unverified explanation of what transpired in Rafah, southern Gaza on March 23th is facing challenges due to mounting evidence that has arisen since then:
Video evidence: A video obtained from a paramedic's phone shows that the ambulances, as well as a fire truck, had their headlights and emergency signals on during the attack. This goes against the IDF's claim that the vehicles were moving suspiciously without any lights, suggesting clear identification as emergency vehicles [1][2].
Witness accounts: Survivors of the attack also disagree with the IDF's report, stating that all vehicle lights were on until they came under fire. This testimony further underscores the emergencies units' visibility and contradicts the IDF's account of suspicion [2].
Satellite imagery: Analysis of satellite images suggests that Israeli forces bulldozed the site after the attack. This action, combined with the burial of bodies in a mass grave, has been interpreted by some as an attempt to conceal evidence or hinder investigations [2].
Forensic analysis: Examination of some of the discovered bodies indicates that the aid workers were killed at point-blank range, with bullet wounds in vital areas. This contradicts the IDF's description of their deaths and raises concerns about potential war crimes [2].
Discrepancy in claims: The IDF claimed that six of the 15 killed were Hamas operatives, but evidence supporting this claim has yet to be presented. Furthermore, the names of the bodies recovered do not match those of the terrorists listed by the IDF [2][5].
International condemnation and investigation: The incident has earned condemnation from international organizations and has triggered calls for an investigation into possible war crimes. The contrast between the IDF's initial statement and the emerging evidence has forced a re-investigation by the IDF [1][2][5].
Sources:[1] https://edition.cnn.com/2023/03/23/middleeast/palestinian-paramedic-killed-israel-mass-grave-intl/index.html[2] https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/palestinian-paramedics-killed-gaza-mass-grave-conflict-over-who-was-targeted-2023-03-28/[3] https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/3/27/israeli-forces-may-have-buried-gaza-paramedics-alive-family-members[4] https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/27/world/middleeast/gaza-palestinian-paramedics-killed.html[5] https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/mar/29/human-rights-watch-update-gaza-civilian-death-toll-rises-as-israel-launches-ground-offensive
Enrichment Clarification:New evidence contradicts the Israel Defense Forces' claims about a March 23rd attack on rescue crews in Rafah, southern Gaza. This evidence includes video footage, witness testimonies, satellite images, forensic analysis, discrepancies in claims, international condemnation, and an initial re-investigation by the Israel Defense Forces. This assessment is based on sources from CNN, Reuters, al-Jazeera, The New York Times, The Guardian, and Human Rights Watch.
- In light of new evidence, the official account provided by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) regarding the March 23 incident in Rafah, southern Gaza, is facing scrutiny.
- Video footage, witness testimonies, satellite images, and forensic analysis all contradict the IDF's initial claims about the rescue crews' visibility during the attack.
- International organizations, including CNN, Reuters, al-Jazeera, The New York Times, The Guardian, and Human Rights Watch, have condemned the incident and called for an investigation into potential war crimes.
