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Southern Command chief Maj. Gen. Yaniv Asor on Sunday presented to IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir the findings of the military’s internal probe into the March 23 incident in Tel al-Sultan, Rafah, in which Palestinian paramedics and humanitarian workers were killed during an Israeli strike.
The case, which has drawn international criticism, gained renewed attention after The New York Times published video footage appearing to contradict the army’s initial account.
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Video that allegedly shows the killing of the paramedics in the Rafah incident
(Video: The New York Times )
At the heart of the investigation is a discrepancy in the account of the deputy commander of a Golani Brigade battalion, a decorated officer who claimed at the time—and afterward—not to have identified the flashing lights of the ambulances.
The IDF emphasized that the incident occurred in an active combat zone, under markedly different conditions from routine operations in the West Bank. The officer in question continued his combat duties following the event and provided testimony from inside Rafah.
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According to the preliminary findings, the shooting took place at approximately 4 a.m. and involved ambulances affiliated with the Palestinian Red Crescent Society. Fourteen people were reported killed, with one survivor at the scene. The Golani force reportedly fired from a concealed ambush position after tracking a Hamas police vehicle.
The IDF said the fire was not directed at medical workers, and there was no execution-style killing or close-range engagement. The deputy commander collected the bodies afterward, covered them with netting, marked the location and called for UN representatives to visit the site.
The IDF is also reviewing the roles of other officers in the chain of command, including the battalion and brigade commanders.
The incident occurred shortly after Israel ended a temporary ceasefire and resumed its military campaign in southern Gaza. On Sunday, the military added that it had struck over 130 terror targets in Gaza over the weekend.
The Red Crescent initially reported that eight paramedics were killed in the strike, later updating the toll to 14, including five members of civil defense teams and one UN worker. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said the victims were buried in a mass grave, and The Guardian cited Palestinian accounts claiming some of the bodies were found with their hands bound.
The international media has focused heavily on the IDF’s evolving narrative, especially in light of the New York Times video analysis, which cast doubt on the army’s original version of events. The IDF has pledged to conduct a full and transparent investigation.