Autopsies carried out on the bodies of 15 Gaza paramedics and civil defence responders killed by Israeli forces reveal they aimed and shot at medics’ upper bodies, with an "intent to kill".
The medics were killed on 23 March, days after Israel violated the ceasefire agreement on 18 March and resumed the brutal war on Gaza.
The autopsies and postmortems corroborate other evidence which asserts that Israel deliberately targeted the medical staff.
Recent video footage, which has also surfaced, shows the moment the staff were shot at, and proves they were wearing high visibility vests and were travelling in a clearly labelled vehicle which had red flashing lights.
The death toll, which has since garnered international condemnation, included eight staff members who worked for the Red Crescent, six for the Gaza civil defence and one employee for the UN agency for Palestinian refugees.
Following the barrage of shooting and attacks, the bodies were later discovered in the Tal al-Sultan area of Rafah city.
Despite Israeli army claims that soldiers "did not randomly attack" any ambulances and maintaining they opened fire at "terrorists" and "suspicious vehicles," further footage recovered from the mobile phone of one of the individuals killed, Rifat Radwan, proves otherwise.
The almost seven-minute video shows a marked ambulance using headlights and emergency lights before it stops. Two Israeli men then get out to examine the stopped vehicle, before gunfire erupts and the screen goes black.
An Israeli military spokesperson claimed the army opened fire on vehicles that had their lights off, with the Israeli army later stating that the incident was still being investigated.
However, an Israeli military official told reporters that the initial account of the vehichles not having emergency lights on was mistaken, Reuters reported.
On Sunday, the Israeli army changed its account again, claiming that six of the medics were linked to Hamas, with no evidence provided to back the statement.
Demands for an investigation
The Red Crescent, NGOs, rights groups and activists have now increased their calls for a thorough investigation into the killings.
The President of the Red Crescent in the occupied West Bank, Younis al-Khatib told journalists that the autopsies were carried out and "we cannot disclose everything we know, but I will say that all the martyrs were shot in the upper part of the body, with the intent to kill".
He also addressed Israeli forces, asking them, "why did you hide the bodies?"
"It is no longer sufficient to speak of respecting the international law and the Geneva Convention. It is now required from the international community and the UN Security Council to implement the necessary punishment against all who are responsible," he continued.
Amnesty International’s Senior Director for Research, Policy, Advocacy and Campaigns, Erika Guevara Rosas, this week said: "Deliberate attacks on medics and humanitarian workers are prohibited by international law and constitute war crimes…these killings must be independently and impartially investigated, and the perpetrators must be held to account".
Romilly Greenhill, CEO of Bond, the UK network for NGOs condemned the killings and said: "Considering previous calls for investigations into the reporting of abuses have yet to deliver accountability, we urgently call on the UK government to utilise all of its diplomatic tools, including sanctions against those responsible and the suspension of weapon sales".
"Any rhetoric needs to be followed up with concrete action that upholds international humanitarian law, protects medical personnel and ensures vital humanitarian access to communities facing unimaginable hardship and suffering," he added.
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