Israel frees paramedic after deadly Gaza attack inquiry
The Israeli military has freed a Palestinian paramedic detained during a deadly Israeli attack in March that killed emergency workers in south Gaza, the BBC reported on April 29th.
Assad al-Nassasra went missing for three weeks. He was later confirmed to be in Israeli custody by the International Committee of the Red Cross. He was among 10 detainees released on April 29th at an Israeli border crossing.
The Israeli military has not issued a statement on his release. However, it had acknowledged detaining al-Nassasra during a briefing on an internal investigation into the incident, which left eight Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) paramedics, six first responders from Gaza’s Civil Defence agency, and a UN employee dead.
The military’s internal probe cited “professional failures” and “operational misunderstanding” by troops who allegedly believed they were faced with a threat.
The military claimed the convoy was driving without headlights or emergency lights being on, but later retracted that claim after discovering video footage showing the emergency lights of the convoy were on. The footage, recovered from the phone of one of the deceased medics, Rifaat Radwan, captures the convoy pulling over, followed by over five minutes of gunfire and Radwan’s final prayers.
The deputy commander of the unit involved was dismissed for providing “an incomplete and inaccurate report.” The PRCS has condemned the internal findings as an attempt to justify what it calls a “war crime,” accusing Israel of shielding its soldiers from accountability.
“The results of the occupation’s investigation hold the usual fallacious allegations of rescue teams in Gaza being part of Hamas,” the organisation said, calling it part of a broader policy of “systemic distortion of the truth.”
The bodies of the 15 emergency personnel were found a week later buried in shallow graves beside their destroyed vehicles. One other PRCS paramedic survived and said he was freed after being detained alongside al-Nassasra.
A senior UN humanitarian official in Gaza warned that the lack of accountability for attacks on humanitarian staff “undermines international law and makes the world a more dangerous place.”
BBC
