A video released by the Palestinian Red Crescent rescue service has cast doubt over the Israeli military's account of its killing of 15 paramedics and civilian defence workers in the Gaza Strip.
The rescue service said the Israeli military attacked an ambulance and a fire engine in the southern Gaza Strip city of Rafah on 23 March.
The Israeli military said at the time that its forces had opened fire on several vehicles after they approached troops in a suspicious manner, without co-ordination or headlights.
Israeli officials said the soldiers had killed members of the Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad groups.
The Palestine Red Crescent Society said on Saturday that it had retrieved a mobile phone from one of the killed paramedics, which held video material of the rescue squad.
The video, shared by the rescue service on X, shows clearly marked ambulances and a fire engine driving with their headlights and blue emergency lights switched on.
The video recording stops after less than a minute when the convoy comes under Israeli fire.
'Forgive me mother': medic's final words
In the video, a medic recording the scene can be heard reciting the Islamic profession of faith, the shahada, which Muslims traditionally say in the face of death.
"There is no God but God, Mohammed is his messenger," he says repeatedly, his voice trembling with fear as intense gunfire continues in the background.
He is also heard saying: "Forgive me mother because I chose this way, the way of helping people".
Just before the footage ends, he is heard referring to the approach of Israeli soldiers.
Seconds later, a male voice is heard speaking in Hebrew without a foreign accent. "Wait, we're coming. We're not responsible — you are responsible," the voice says.
The identity of the speaker and who he is addressing are unclear.
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The Palestinian Red Crescent said the unarmed rescue workers were shot at close range, contrary to the Israeli account that soldiers fired at approaching suspicious vehicles.
"This video unequivocally refutes the occupation's claims that Israeli forces did not randomly target ambulances, and that some vehicles had approached 'suspiciously without lights or emergency markings'," the rescue service wrote on X.
The Israeli military said in response to a request for comment about the video that the event on 23 March, 2025, was under thorough examination.
"All claims, including the documentation circulating about the incident, will be thoroughly and deeply examined to understand the sequence of events and the handling of the situation," it said.
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, said the attack raised concerns about possible "war crimes".
