The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) dismissed and discharged the deputy commander of the reconnaissance unit of the Golani Brigade due to his responsibility for the “incident” on March 23rd, in which his forces opened fire on an ambulance convoy in Rafah, in southern Gaza, killing 15 Palestinian doctors and medics.
The IDF stated that the commander is also in the process of being dismissed due to his “partial and inaccurate” report on the incident during the investigation.
The IDF also announced that it would “punish” the commander of the 14th Reserve Armored Brigade – the unit that led the operation in Rafah when the killing of the medics occurred – due to his “overall responsibility for the incident.”
These measures, decided by the head of the Southern Command, Major General Yaniv Asor, and approved by IDF Chief of Staff, Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir, come after an investigation into the incident led by Major General (res.) Yoav Har-Even, head of the General Staff’s Fact-Finding Assessment Mechanism, an independent military body responsible for investigating unusual incidents during war, Israeli media report.
Har-Even’s investigation concluded that in the massacre of Palestinians “there was no violation of the IDF’s ethical code,” but that there were several “professional mistakes” by the troops who violated military protocol, along with a “failure to fully report the incident.”
The IDF stated that it “expresses regret for the harm caused to uninvolved (in the fighting) civilians,” adding that the investigation aimed to prevent the recurrence of such incidents.
“The existing guidelines on the special caution required regarding rescue forces and medical workers, even in areas of intense fighting, have been sharpened and clarified,” the IDF said in the statement.
