ANKARA 

Australia on Sunday called for an independent investigation into the killing of 15 paramedics and civilian defense workers in Gaza by Israeli forces last month.

"The deaths of humanitarian workers in Gaza are unacceptable," a Foreign Ministry spokesperson said in a statement.

"It is appropriate that there is a thorough and independent investigation. Those responsible must be held accountable."

The demand came a day after a video released on Saturday by The New York Times exposed a deliberate lie by the Israeli army regarding the killing of 15 Palestinian paramedics in southern Gaza on March 23.

The video was grabbed from the cellphone of a paramedic whose body was later found buried in a mass grave.

The video exposed the Israeli army's initial claim that the vehicles were advancing “suspiciously” from its forces "without headlights, or emergency signals, (and) their movement was not coordinated in advance."

The army claimed that nine members from Hamas and Islamic Jihad groups were killed in the attack.

Foreign Minister Penny Wong also told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation that the world was seeking a "proper and thorough inquiry."

The remains of the eight paramedics from the Palestinian Red Crescent, six Gaza civil defense service workers and one UN official were found buried in a shallow mass grave near Tel al-Sultan outside Rafah on March 30 alongside the wreckage of their vehicles.

More than 50,000 Palestinians, most of them women and children, have been killed in Gaza in Israel's military onslaught since October 2023.​​​​​​​