DayofPal– A chilling new investigation by The Guardian has revealed the involvement of a notorious Israeli general in what human rights groups are calling one of the most brutal assaults on humanitarian workers in Gaza since the war began.
On March 23, Israeli troops from the elite Golani Brigade ambushed two ambulance convoys in Rafah, southern Gaza, killing 15 Palestinian medics and first responders.
According to a senior Israeli military intelligence source cited in the report, the operation was overseen by Brigadier General Yehuda Vach, a figure already infamous among Israeli ranks for reportedly declaring, “there are no innocents in Gaza.”
The attack, which Israel initially justified by claiming the ambulances did not display emergency lights, has since been discredited by a recovered cell phone video showing clearly marked vehicles.
Autopsy reports and eyewitness accounts tell a harrowing tale: many victims were shot at point-blank range and discovered with their limbs bound. A UN team discovered the mass grave six days later, with the ambulances buried alongside the bodies.
The only survivor, Red Crescent volunteer Munther Abed, recounted being pulled from a bullet-riddled ambulance, stripped, bound, and beaten during interrogation by Israeli soldiers. Abed believes he survived only because he lost consciousness and was left for dead.
The operation is believed to have involved not only Golani troops but potentially members of Unit 504, an Israeli military intelligence division notorious for its use of torture. The Israeli military has refused to confirm Unit 504’s role.
Israel has since altered its narrative, walking back claims about unmarked vehicles and instead alleging, without presenting evidence that some of the medics had ties to Hamas. None of the victims were armed, and no substantiating proof has been made public.
The victims included eight Red Crescent staff, six members of Gaza’s civil defense, and a UNRWA employee. One Red Crescent worker is still missing.
The Palestinian Red Crescent is calling for an independent international investigation, while human rights advocates denounce what they describe as Israel’s “culture of impunity.”
According to the U.S. State Department, fewer than 1% of complaints filed against Israeli forces operating in Palestinian territories in 2023 led to convictions.
This massacre is part of a broader pattern. Throughout the war, hundreds of aid workers, doctors, and medics have been killed in Israeli strikes. As the death toll in Gaza climbs, the international community is once again confronted with growing calls for accountability and justice for those who risked everything to save lives.
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