JERUSALEM / ISTANBUL

The Israeli army claimed Sunday that it found no evidence about the execution of 15 Palestinian medics in southern Gaza last month.

Israeli forces killed 15 Palestinian emergency workers during a rescue mission in western Rafah last month.

A video showed that the victims were shot, and some of them had their hands bound and were buried in an area roughly 200 meters from where their vehicles had last been seen.

Initially, the Israeli army claimed that its forces had opened fire on vehicles that approached in a “suspicious manner” without emergency signals. It later admitted to killing the medics.

A military statement on Sunday claimed that an examination “found no evidence to support claims of execution or that any of the deceased were bound before or after the shooting.”

The army called reports about killing the Palestinian medics “blood libels” and “false accusations” against its soldiers.

The army insisted that it was conducting a “vital mission” aimed at Hamas fighters when the incident occurred on March 23.

It alleged that Israeli forces fired at a Hamas vehicle and, later on, a fire truck and ambulances, very close to the area where its forces were operating.

The army claimed that its forces opened fire on the vehicles, “under this impression and sense of threat,” killing 15 Palestinians and Hamas fighters.

“Only later, after approaching the vehicles and scanning them, was it discovered that these were indeed rescue teams,” it continued.

The army also admitted to opening fire at a Palestinian UN vehicle in the same area.

The army alleged that the bodies of the medics were removed by Israeli field commanders “to prevent further harm” and the vehicles removed from the route “in preparation for civilian evacuation.”

“In general, there was no attempt to conceal the event, which was discussed with international organizations and the UN, including coordination for the removal of bodies,” it added.

The army said it will reprimand the commanding officer of the 14th Brigade and dismiss the deputy commander of the Golani Reconnaissance Battalion over the incident.

More than 51,200 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza in a brutal Israeli onslaught since October 2023, most of them women and children.

In November 2024, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.