end of list<\/span><\/section>\nFifteen aid workers were killed in the attack, including paramedics from the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS), firefighters from the Palestinian Civil Defence (PCD) and a staff member of the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA). The slain aid workers were then buried along with their vehicles.<\/p>\n
The Israeli military initially claimed the vehicles were \u201cuncoordinated\u201d and later admitted a \u201cprofessional error\u201d. But the forensic analysis paints a different picture: a coordinated ambush, an absence of return fire and a calculated move to eliminate survivors.<\/p>\n
The science of the massacre<\/h2>\n The investigation relies heavily on a \u201csituated testimony\u201d technique and advanced audio ballistics to analyse the sound of gunfire to determine the shooter\u2019s distance, weapon type and direction.<\/p>\n
Investigators analysed footage recovered from the phone of slain paramedic Rifaat Radwan, a PRCS paramedic who began recording at 5:09am, when the ambush began. In a video lasting five and a half minutes, at least 844 gunshots were recorded. Combined with other recordings, the total documented count reached at least 910 gunshots.<\/p>\n
In the video, filmed from inside one of the last two ambulances, Radwan can be heard asking his mother for forgiveness and reciting the Islamic declaration of faith, the shahada, before he dies.<\/p>\n
According to Earshot\u2019s analysis, 93 percent of these shots featured a specific acoustic signature: a \u201csupersonic shockwave\u201d, followed by a muzzle blast. This combination confirms that the camera \u2013 and the aid workers huddled around it \u2013 were directly in the line of fire.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe density of gunfire \u2026 frequently exceeds 900 rounds per minute,\u201d the report states, noting that, at one point, five shots were fired in just 67 milliseconds. This rate of fire confirms that at least five shooters, likely many more, were firing simultaneously from an elevated sandbank approximately 40 metres away.<\/p>\n
\u201cIsraeli soldiers ambushed and subjected Palestinian aid workers to continuous assault by gunfire for over two hours\u201d, between 5:09am and 7:13am, the report says.<\/p>\n
From ambush to execution<\/h2>\n The report challenges the Israeli narrative of a chaotic \u201ccombat zone\u201d. Instead, it describes a methodical massacre of Palestinian aid workers on their way to help people injured in Israeli strikes.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere was no exchange of fire in the area, and no tangible threat to the safety of those soldiers. These attacks did not happen in \u2018a hostile and dangerous combat zone\u2019, as was claimed by Israeli spokespersons,\u201d the report says.<\/p>\n
By analysing the time delay between the sound of the gunshots and their echoes bouncing off a nearby concrete wall, investigators tracked the movement of the soldiers.<\/p>\n
For the first four minutes, the soldiers held a fixed position on a sandbank. Then, the audio data shows the echo interval increasing, indicating the soldiers were moving down the hill, advancing roughly 50 metres towards the convoy while continuing to fire.<\/p>\n
This corroborates the testimony of survivor Assaad al-Nassasra, a PRCS worker, who told investigators: \u201cThey were walking between [the aid workers] and shooting.\u201d<\/p>\n
The most chilling findings concern the final moments of the attack. Analysis of a subsequent phone call made by paramedic Ashraf Abu Libda to dispatchers captures the soldiers arriving at the vehicles.<\/p>\n
The audio analysis identifies specific gunshots where the distinct \u201csupersonic crack\u201d of the bullet disappears, leaving only the muzzle blast. Ballistically, this indicates the shooter was within 1 to 4 metres (3 feet to 13 feet) of the victim.<\/p>\n
These shots coincide with the final sounds of movement from Abu Libda, suggesting he was shot while lying on the ground. A doctor who later examined the bodies confirmed the wounds were consistent with \u201cexecution-style\u201d killings.<\/p>\n
Israeli forces have repeatedly been accused of crimes against humanity and war crimes during their genocidal war in Gaza that killed more than 72,000 Palestinians. A recent report by the medical journal The Lancet says the death toll in the first 16 months was much higher than the official figures. Despite a \u201cceasefire\u201d in place since October, Israel has killed more than 600 Palestinians.<\/p>\n
Rights groups and scholars have said the Israeli military offensive that turned Gaza into ruins is genocide. The International Court of Justice (ICJ) is hearing a case of genocide against Israel, while the International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued an arrest warrant for war crimes against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.<\/p>\n
The brutal killing of the 15 aid workers in March 2025 caused outrage, but Israel faced no legal or political consequences as it continued to receive backing from its Western allies, including the United States.<\/p>\n
Hiding the evidence<\/h2>\n The report details a systematic attempt by Israeli forces to conceal the massacre in the hours that followed.<\/p>\n
Satellite imagery from that morning revealed that bulldozers were deployed to the site. The emergency vehicles were crushed and buried, and earth berms were constructed over the scene to block visibility.<\/p>\n
These forensic findings align with exclusive satellite imagery obtained by Al Jazeera\u2019s Sanad fact-checking agency last year. In a report published on March 30, 2025, Sanad revealed imagery taken on March 25 showing that at least five rescue vehicles had been \u201ccompletely destroyed\u201d and buried in sand by Israeli forces on al-Muharrarat Street \u2013 the site of the massacre.<\/p>\nExclusive satellite imagery obtained by the Sanad agency reveals the destruction and burial of Palestine Red Crescent Society and Civil Defence vehicles in Rafah [Sanad\/Al Jazeera]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nAt the time, the Palestinian Civil Defence condemned the act as a \u201ccrime of extermination\u201d, stating that Israeli forces deliberately \u201caltered the landmarks of the place\u201d and used heavy machinery to hide the bodies of the victims.<\/p>\n
\u201cIsraeli military personnel acted intentionally to conceal and disrupt evidence \u2026 by burying the bodies of the victims [and] burying the mobile phones,\u201d the Forensic Architecture report says.<\/p>\n
Survivor al-Nassasra was detained, taken to Israel\u2019s notorious Sde Teiman detention camp, and tortured for 37 days. He testified that soldiers confiscated and buried his phone, likely to hide evidence.<\/p>\n
One of the two PRCS survivors of the attack was later used as a \u201chuman tool\u201d at an Israeli military checkpoint near the incident site, the report says.<\/p>\n
Lalas, Yotam and Amatzia<\/h2>\n In a rare instance of identification, the audio analysis was able to isolate and enhance the voices of the Israeli soldiers speaking Hebrew during the attack.<\/p>\n
The investigation identifies three soldiers by name \u2013 Elias (referred to as Lalas), Yotam, and Amatzia \u2013 based on their conversations as they moved among the bodies.<\/p>\n
In one recording, a soldier is heard asking, \u201cLalas, did you finish?\u201d before receiving an order to \u201cput the guns on them\u201d.<\/p>\n
The report concludes that there was \u201cno exchange of fire in the area, and no tangible threat to the safety of those soldiers\u201d, debunking Israeli claims of a battle. Instead, it documents a deliberate attack on a humanitarian convoy that ended in the calculated execution of those who survived the initial barrage.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Israeli soldiers fired more than 900 bullets at a convoy of clearly marked Palestinian emergency vehicles in Gaza before advancing to kill the surviving aid workers, some of whom were shot \u201cexecution-style\u201d at close range, last March, a new joint investigation has revealed. The report released on Monday by independent research agency Forensic Architecture and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":13326,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13325","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-middle-east-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13325","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=13325"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13325\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/13326"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=13325"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=13325"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=13325"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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