The Trump administration has doubled down on its position that Hamas is to blame for Israeli troops executing 15 Palestinian medical workers in Gaza, even after a video showed that the Israeli military was lying about the incident.
The IDF initially claimed its forces opened fire on vehicles that were advancing “suspiciously” and had no headlights or flashing emergency lights. But a video recorded by one of the executed paramedic’s phone showed the ambulances they were driving had emergency lights on when the IDF opened fire.
“Forgive me, mother. This is the path I chose. To help people,” said Palestinian medic Refaat Radwan moments before he was killed.
The Israeli soldiers tried to cover up the crime by burying the 15 medics and their ambulances in a shallow grave. The IDF has since changed its story, acknowledging the lights were flashing and that they opened fire on unarmed men but claiming six of them were linked to Hamas while offering no evidence.
Despite the clear evidence of a war crime, the US is still backing the IDF’s conduct. “Hamas uses ambulances and more broadly human shields for terrorism,” White House National Security Council spokesman Brian Hughes told Reuters. “President Trump understands the impossible situation this tactic creates for Israel and holds Hamas entirely responsible.”
Before the video came out, State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce was asked about the executions and also said that Hamas was to blame. “Every single thing that is happening in Gaza is happening because of Hamas. Every single dynamic,” she said.
On Monday, Hamas responded to Hughes’s statement and denied that it uses ambulances for military purposes. Hamas wrote on Telegram that the statement represents “a horrific example of unethical solidarity with the Nazis of our time, in their brutal war against innocent civilians and humanitarian organizations.”
“Hughes’ accusations against Hamas for using ambulances are nothing but lies, lacking any evidence. The US administration, along with the war criminal Netanyahu’s government, is spreading these falsehoods to justify their horrific and documented crime against paramedics and rescue workers,” Hamas added.
