Autopsies of 15 medics slain by 'Israel' show shots to head, torso
5 Min Read
The findings are expected to intensify calls for "Israel" to provide a full explanation for the execution-style killing of 15 medics in Gaza, as war crime accusations mount.
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Mourners gather around the bodies of 8 Red Crescent emergency responders, recovered in Rafah a week after an Israeli attack, as they are transported for burial from a hospital in Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip, on Monday, March 31, 2025. (AP)
The doctor who performed autopsies on 15 medics and rescue workers intentionally killed by invading Israeli units in Gaza in March has revealed that most victims suffered gunshot wounds to the head and torso, along with injuries caused by explosives.
The killings prompted widespread condemnation last month after it emerged that Israeli occupation forces had opened fire on paramedics from the Palestinian Red Crescent, Civil Defense, and UN-affiliated teams while they were conducting a rescue mission in southern Gaza.
The victims and their vehicles were later discovered buried in a sandy mass grave by Israeli forces. After exhuming the bodies, the United Nations stated the workers appeared to have been “executed one by one.”
Explosive rounds tore through victims’ bodies, says Gaza pathologist
Dr. Ahmed Dhair, the Gaza-based forensic pathologist who examined 14 of the 15 bodies, said, as quoted by The Guardian, “We found lacerations, entry wounds from bullets, and injuries caused by explosives—mostly in the chest, abdomen, back, and head.” He added that explosive or “butterfly” bullets—designed to shatter inside the body—were also used.
“In one case, the bullet exploded in the chest, and fragments were scattered inside the body. In another, shrapnel from bullets was found embedded in a victim’s back,” Dhair said.
"Israel" has admitted to the killings, after initially claiming the vehicles were behaving “suspiciously” without lights—a version that was later contradicted by evidence.
"Israel" further claimed—without presenting public evidence—that six of the unarmed victims were Hamas members, a claim refuted by the Palestinian Red Crescent.
The revelations are expected to fuel growing demands for "Israel" to provide a transparent explanation of what rights groups have described as a possible war crime. "Israel" has alleged that the case remains under investigation.
It was also revealed this week that Assad al-Nsasrah, one of the two medics who survived the incident and had been unaccounted for, is currently being held in Israeli custody.
'Israel' backtracks on lies as footage exposes murder of Gaza medics
A video footage exposing the Israeli occupation forces' execution of 15 medics in Rafah emerged earlier this month, forcing "Israel" to backtrack on its fabricated narrative, claiming its lies were "unintentionally made".
Further claims were made and later debunked by video evidence, including that the ambulances did not have their emergency light on and that the Israeli forces came under fire. The later Israeli military report claimed that the Israeli forces hid the bodies and the ambulances under the sand "to prevent them from being eaten by wild animals."
This procedure was unusual for their forces committing genocide and leaving bodies in the streets left and right for one and a half years intentionally, for them to be eaten by wild animals later on, which suggests that the IOF did it to hide evidence.
What actually happened
The New York Times obtained video retrieved from the cell phone of a Palestinian paramedic, whose body was discovered alongside 14 other aid workers in a mass grave in Gaza in late March, showing clearly marked ambulances and a fire truck with emergency lights activated as they came under heavy Israeli gunfire.
The Israeli military spokesperson, Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani, had denied that Israeli forces had "randomly" attacked an ambulance. He claimed that multiple vehicles had been seen "advancing suspiciously" without headlights or emergency signals toward Israeli troops, prompting the shooting. He also claimed that nine of the individuals killed were Palestinian Resistance fighters.
However, a seven-minute video shot from inside a moving vehicle was recovered, depicting a convoy of ambulances and a fire truck, all clearly marked and displaying both headlights and flashing emergency lights, driving southward on a road north of Rafah just after sunrise.
The convoy halts when it comes across a damaged ambulance on the roadside—an earlier vehicle sent to aid injured civilians had reportedly come under attack. The new rescue vehicles move to the side of the road. At least two uniformed rescue workers are seen exiting the fire truck and ambulance, both bearing the Red Crescent emblem, and approaching the damaged vehicle.
Suddenly, intense gunfire erupts. The barrage of bullets can be seen and heard striking the convoy. The footage shakes and then goes dark, though the audio continues for five minutes with unrelenting gunfire. A man’s voice is heard in Arabic noting the presence of Israeli soldiers.
The paramedic filming the attack is repeatedly heard reciting the shahada, the Islamic declaration of faith typically spoken when facing death. He asks for forgiveness and expresses that he knows he is going to die.
“Forgive me, mother. This is the path I chose — to help people,” he says.
According to PRCS spokesperson Nebal Farsakh, speaking from Ramallah, the paramedic who filmed the video was later found with a gunshot wound to the head in the mass grave. His identity has not been made public due to concerns for the safety of his family still living in Gaza, a UN diplomat confirmed.
