The Israeli military has concluded an internal investigation into the deaths of 15 Palestinian paramedics and aid workers in Gaza, stating that no violations of its ethical code occurred, and attributing the incident to a series of “professional failures.” The announcement has been met with fierce criticism from Palestinian and Israeli rights organisations, as well as calls for an independent international inquiry.
The Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS), which lost several medics in the Rafah attack, dismissed the findings as a whitewash. Speaking to Al-Araby TV, PRCS President Younis al-Khatib called the military’s account “contradictory” and questioned why soldiers buried the bodies in what he described as a “criminal manner.”
Al-Khatib further stated that Israeli forces had direct contact with the paramedics prior to the strike and noted that video evidence, showing ambulances with flashing emergency lights, disproved the military’s claim of limited visibility.
“There must be an impartial investigation led by the United Nations,” he added.
PRCS spokesperson Nebal Farsakh told AFP that the report was “full of lies” and “unacceptable,” accusing the Israeli army of justifying the killings while minimising them as the result of a field command error.
Despite mounting international pressure, the Israeli military maintains that six of the 15 aid workers were Hamas militants—a claim made without providing supporting evidence. It also denied allegations that the victims were executed or bound before being killed, contradicting witness testimonies and available footage.
The internal review identified several failures in communication and judgement by field commanders during the incursion into Rafah, southern Gaza. As a result, the deputy commander of the Golani Reconnaissance Battalion is to be dismissed, while the commander of the 14th Brigade will receive a formal reprimand.
Footage obtained by The New York Times included a mobile phone video, filmed by one of the deceased aid workers, showing clearly marked ambulances and paramedics who were visible to Israeli forces. The attack reportedly lasted several minutes.
Following the Israeli withdrawal from Rafah, UN and Palestinian officials discovered a shallow mass grave containing the bodies of the aid workers and bulldozed ambulances. The Israeli military had earlier claimed the vehicles approached “suspiciously” and were not clearly identified.
Israeli human rights group Breaking the Silence criticised the probe as lacking credibility, describing it as “riddled with contradictions, vague phrasing, and selective details.” In a statement, the group said, “Not every lie has a video to expose it, but this report doesn’t even attempt to engage with the truth… More innocent lives taken, with no accountability.”
Meanwhile, far-right members of the Israeli government, including National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, argued the military had gone too far in punishing its own soldiers. Ben-Gvir called the dismissal of the battalion commander a “grave mistake” and said troops “deserve our full support.”
Legal experts have also questioned the integrity of the investigation. Human rights lawyer Geoffrey Nice told Al Jazeera that the document failed to provide credible proof to support the army’s claim that six of the victims were Hamas fighters.
Israel has a long-standing pattern of clearing its military of wrongdoing or isolating blame to low-level personnel. Previous investigations into controversial incidents have often avoided institutional accountability.
The United Nations has already attributed responsibility for the killings in Rafah to the Israeli military. It also confirmed that a Bulgarian UN staff member was killed and six other international staff injured in a separate attack in Deir el-Balah. Ongoing violence has forced the UN to dramatically scale down its operations in Gaza, where the civilian death toll continues to rise.
