Video Reveals Aid Workers in Gaza Ambushed by Gunfire, Ambulance Lights Activated

According to the United Nations, Israeli forces are responsible for the deaths of aid workers. However, footage seems to challenge Israel's claims, which stated that the vehicles were moving in a suspicious manner and lacked visible headlights or emergency indicators.

Footage Discovery and Context

A cellphone video was found with a paramedic among several aid workers discovered in a mass burial site in Rafah, Gaza, late in March. The footage obtained by The New York Times captures ambulances and a fire truck, marked and with their emergency lights on, as they were fired upon by Israeli forces.

UN Presentation of Evidence

During a UN press briefing managed by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, representatives from the Palestine Red Crescent Society revealed the nearly seven-minute video to the UN Security Council.

Conflicting Accounts of the Incident

Lieutenant Colonel Nadav Shoshani, speaking for the Israeli military, denied any arbitrary attack on ambulances. He claimed that several vehicles moved towards Israeli forces without headlights or emergency signals, prompting defensive shots. He maintained that many of the deceased were militants, yet the Israeli side did not comment on the video.

Verification and Witness Statements

A senior UN diplomat, who wishes to remain anonymous, provided The Times with the video. It was confirmed to show the journey of a convoy of marked ambulances with headlights and emergency lights on, heading southbound in the early morning as dawn began to break.

Upon arrival, they encountered a vehicle veered off the roadway, previously dispatched to assist wounded civilians but subsequently attacked. The rescue vehicles then diverted to aid.