AhlulBayt News Agency: An independent international investigation has found that Israeli occupation forces (IOF) fired nearly 1,000 bullets at Palestinian emergency and relief teams in Rafah in southern Gaza in March 2025, documenting what researchers describe as the field execution of humanitarian workers.
The probe, conducted by the research groups Earshot and Forensic Architecture, reconstructed the events of March 23, 2025, when 15 aid workers were killed. The victims included eight medics from the Palestinian Red Crescent Society, six members of the Palestinian Civil Defense and one employee of a UN relief agency.
Using audio and video recordings, satellite imagery, open-source footage and in-depth interviews with two survivors, investigators pieced together a minute-by-minute account of the attack. The analysis documented at least 910 gunshots, including 844 rounds fired within approximately five and a half minutes.
According to the report, around 93 percent of the initial shots were directed at clearly marked emergency vehicles and aid workers, whose uniforms and flashing lights were visible at the time.
The investigation concluded that the teams were subjected to what it described as a sustained ambush lasting more than two hours, despite no evidence that Israeli forces were under fire. At least one aid worker was shot from a distance of less than one meter, the report said, indicating a possible close-range execution.
The findings challenge earlier Israeli military statements claiming that troops did not target ambulances indiscriminately and that some vehicles approached in a suspicious manner without emergency signals.
Video later published by The New York Times, recovered from the phone of a medic whose body was found in a mass grave alongside 14 others, showed emergency vehicles with lights activated and clearly identifiable markings coming under heavy gunfire.
Autopsy reports cited by the newspaper indicated that many of the victims were shot in the head and chest.
The Israeli military acknowledged that its forces opened fire but said an internal investigation concluded the incident occurred in a hostile combat zone and found no grounds for criminal charges. One officer was reportedly dismissed, but no prosecutions were recommended.
Legal experts who reviewed the new report said the case is extensively documented through multiple corroborating sources and could constitute a war crime. The full findings are scheduled to be presented at an event at the British Parliament in Westminster.
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