A new joint investigation has concluded that Israeli forces fired more than 900 rounds at a convoy of clearly marked Palestinian emergency vehicles in Gaza before advancing and killing surviving aid workers at close range during a March 2025 attack.
According to Al Jazeera, the report - released Monday by independent research group Forensic Architecture and audio investigation firm Earshot - provides what researchers describe as the most detailed reconstruction so far of the incident in Tal as-Sultan, west of Rafah, on March 23, 2025.
Fifteen aid workers were killed, including paramedics from the Palestine Red Crescent Society, firefighters from the Palestinian Civil Defence and an employee of the UNRWA. The report states that the victims were buried alongside their destroyed emergency vehicles.
Israel’s military had initially described the convoy as “uncoordinated” and later characterised the incident as a “professional error.” However, the forensic reconstruction alleges the attack was a deliberate ambush with sustained fire and no evidence of return fire from the victims.
Forensic Reconstruction
Investigators relied on what they termed “situated testimony” and audio-ballistic analysis to determine the distance, direction and intensity of gunfire. Central to the reconstruction was video footage recovered from the phone of slain paramedic Rifaat Radwan, which began recording at 5:09am when the attack started.
In footage lasting more than five minutes, analysts documented at least 844 gunshots. When combined with additional recordings, researchers counted a minimum of 910 rounds fired. Acoustic analysis found that 93 percent of shots carried a supersonic shockwave signature, indicating the victims were directly in the line of fire.
Researchers reported that the volume of gunfire frequently exceeded 900 rounds per minute, with multiple shooters firing simultaneously from an elevated sandbank roughly 40 metres away. The assault, the report states, lasted more than two hours.
Claims of Close-Range Killings
The investigation disputes descriptions of the scene as an active combat zone, concluding there was no exchange of fire or immediate threat posed to the soldiers.
Audio analysis suggests troops initially fired from a fixed position before advancing toward the convoy while continuing to shoot. This account aligns with testimony from survivor Assaad al-Nassasra, who told investigators that soldiers moved among the aid workers while firing.
In the attack’s final moments, recordings attributed to paramedic Ashraf Abu Libda captured gunshots lacking the supersonic crack typically heard at distance. Analysts say this indicates the shooter was within one to four metres of the victims, suggesting some were killed at extremely close range.
Allegations of Evidence Concealment
The report further alleges that Israeli forces attempted to conceal the incident by bulldozing and burying emergency vehicles and constructing earth barriers to obstruct visibility. Satellite imagery cited by investigators shows multiple rescue vehicles destroyed and covered with sand at the scene.
The findings align with earlier satellite analysis published by Al Jazeera’s Sanad verification unit, which reported that several emergency vehicles were buried at the site days after the attack.
Israel has not publicly responded to the investigation’s latest findings.
