Israel Report Concludes ‘Professional Failures’ Led To IDF Murdering 15 Palestinian Medics

A group of IDF veterans called the report a 'cover-up'

An inquiry by the Israeli Defense Forces into its soldiers murdering 15 Palestinian medics in Rafah last month dismissed its forces’ opening fire on the first responders.

The report by the IDF found that “professional failures” and “operational misunderstandings” were the cause of Israeli soldiers killing 15 Palestinian medics. It concluded the troops opened fire on the ambulances “after perceiving an immediate and tangible threat.”

On March 23, IDF soldiers in Rafah opened fire on a convoy of ambulances. Initially, Tel Aviv claimed that the vehicles were driving erratically and without their lights on. However, a video from one of the medics’ phones showed that the ambulances were driving with caution and were using their sirens.

After the massacre of the medics, most of whom worked for the Red Crescent, the IDF buried the victims and their vehicles in a mass grave. Once the crime scene was exhumed, autopsies showed most of the first responders were killed by bullets to the head or chest.

The report claimed the mass grave was not an effort at an IDF cover-up. “There was no attempt to conceal the event, which was discussed with international organizations and the UN, including coordination for the removal of bodies,” the IDF asserted.

Breaking the Silence, an organization of IDF veterans, called the report a “cover-up.” “The investigation is riddled with contradictions, vague phrasing, and selective details. The only ‘serious’ disciplinary action taken: the dismissal of the deputy commander of Golani’s elite unit.” The statement continued. “His reported ‘failure’ was submitting an incomplete account of the incident. In other words, he lied.”

The organization added, “We all remember when the IDF claimed that the ambulances’ emergency lights weren’t on — and then we saw the footage proving otherwise. Not every lie has a video to expose it, but this report doesn’t even attempt to engage with the truth.”

Over the past 18 months, the IDF has committed countless atrocities in Gaza. Most of the time, the mass killings of Palestinians by Israelis go unreported in Western media.

However, on a few occasions, IDF operations have come under scrutiny in the US. Tel Aviv has skirted any responsibility for the war crimes by investigating its forces and concluding there were errors made but no intentional or systemic wrongdoing.

Kyle Anzalone is the opinion editor of Antiwar.com and news editor of the Libertarian Institute. He hosts The Kyle Anzalone Show and is co-host of Conflicts of Interest with Connor Freeman.