Release of Video of 15 Rescue Workers Killed in Gaza Calls Israel's Narrative into Question

The release of a video showing the scene of the killing of 15 rescue workers in an Israeli army operation in the Gaza Strip has called into question Israel's narrative regarding the attack, with the Associated Press reporting that an army official stated this narrative was 'incorrect.' Israeli army forces opened fire on a Red Crescent aid convoy in the Tel al-Sultan area of Rafah city on April 2, resulting in the deaths of 15 rescue workers, including a UN employee. Days after the attack, rescue forces and the UN announced they had discovered the bodies of the rescue workers in a mass grave at the same location. Initially, the Israeli army claimed they fired at the vehicles due to 'suspicious movement' towards their forces and the lack of headlights and emergency signals. However, a video obtained from the mobile phone of one of the deceased rescue workers and presented to the UN Security Council shows that the Red Crescent and civil defense vehicles were moving towards an ambulance that had been previously targeted with their emergency lights on. In the video, Israeli forces are not seen, but suddenly a barrage of gunfire begins, and at least one of the rescue workers immediately falls to the ground, with the sound of a rescue worker holding the phone heard praying. In response to questions about this video, the Israeli army stated that the incident is 'under complete investigation.' Israel has repeatedly accused the extremist group Hamas, which is also defined as a terrorist organization by the US and the EU, of hiding its forces in aid vehicles, hospitals, and civilian infrastructure. This incident, which is considered one of the deadliest attacks against aid workers during the recent war in Gaza, has received widespread international attention. In its initial account of the attack, the Israeli army claimed that after the shooting, its forces discovered that one Hamas member named Muhammad Amin Shobaki and eight other militants were killed. However, none of the 15 deceased rescue workers bore this name, and no other bodies were found at the scene. Jonathan Whittle, the acting head of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Gaza, rejected Israel's claim, stating that his staff had previously collaborated with these rescue workers to evacuate patients. According to UN statistics, since the beginning of the war in Gaza, more than 150 rescue workers from the Red Crescent and civil defense, and over a thousand medical personnel have lost their lives. The war in Gaza began after the Hamas group's attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, which killed 1,200 people and took 251 hostages. Israel resumed heavy attacks on the Gaza Strip on March 19 after about two months of ceasefire, and Benjamin Netanyahu announced Israel's determination to establish a new security corridor throughout the Gaza Strip.