Two survivors provide chilling accounts of the attack on a convoy in Rafah, amplifying calls for accountability.
Eyewitness Testimonies Illuminate Fatal Israeli Strike on Gaza Medics
Eyewitness Testimonies Illuminate Fatal Israeli Strike on Gaza Medics
Witnesses recount harrowing moments during an Israeli assault that claimed the lives of 15 emergency workers.
On March 23, a convoy of ambulances and a fire truck from Palestinian emergency services came to a standstill in Rafah, Gaza before dawn, searching for paramedics who had embarked on a rescue mission hours earlier. Instead, they were met with gunfire from Israeli soldiers stationed nearby. Eyewitness accounts from Munther Abed, a 27-year-old volunteer paramedic, and Dr. Saeed al-Bardawil, a 55-year-old physician, reveal the harrowing events that followed, claiming the lives of 15 rescue workers.
Abed shared that he was detained after narrowly escaping an earlier attack on the ambulance that resulted in the deaths of two crew members. Al-Bardawil recounted being stopped with his son while heading out to fish when they were apprehended by the same troops. Days later, a United Nations investigation discovered a mass grave containing the bodies of the deceased workers, some belonging to the Palestine Red Crescent Society and others from Gaza’s Civil Defense.
The two men’s experiences seem to substantiate claims made by the U.N. that Israeli forces were responsible for the killings, discarding the bodies and damaging emergency vehicles. While their accounts are yet to be independently verified, they correspond with footage obtained from a deceased paramedic’s cellphone, which showed the intense gunfire directed at the convoy just as dawn broke over Gaza.
As the international community examines the circumstances surrounding the incident, these testimonies add to the growing calls for accountability and justice regarding the treatment of medical personnel in conflict zones.
Abed shared that he was detained after narrowly escaping an earlier attack on the ambulance that resulted in the deaths of two crew members. Al-Bardawil recounted being stopped with his son while heading out to fish when they were apprehended by the same troops. Days later, a United Nations investigation discovered a mass grave containing the bodies of the deceased workers, some belonging to the Palestine Red Crescent Society and others from Gaza’s Civil Defense.
The two men’s experiences seem to substantiate claims made by the U.N. that Israeli forces were responsible for the killings, discarding the bodies and damaging emergency vehicles. While their accounts are yet to be independently verified, they correspond with footage obtained from a deceased paramedic’s cellphone, which showed the intense gunfire directed at the convoy just as dawn broke over Gaza.
As the international community examines the circumstances surrounding the incident, these testimonies add to the growing calls for accountability and justice regarding the treatment of medical personnel in conflict zones.
