![Members of the Palestine Red Crescent and other emergency services pray by the bodies of fellow rescuers killed a week earlier by Israeli forces, during a funeral procession at Nasser hospital in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip on March 31, 2025. [Photo by EYAD BABA/AFP via Getty Images]](https://i0.wp.com/www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/GettyImages-2207283493-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1)
Fourteen Gaza medics killed last month by Israeli occupation forces were wearing identifiable emergency service uniforms and appear to have been deliberately targeted, according to autopsy findings obtained by the New York Times.
The examinations, conducted by Dr Ahmad Dhair of the Gaza Health Ministry and reviewed by Norwegian forensic pathologist Dr Torleiv Stray-Pedersen, revealed that 11 of the medics had suffered gunshot wounds, most of them shot multiple times.
Six were struck in the chest or back, and four were shot in the head. One medic suffered extensive shrapnel injuries, while two others had wounds consistent with an explosion.
Several bodies showed signs of severe trauma, including missing limbs, and one victim’s body was severed at the pelvis.
Moreover, according to audio and video evidence reviewed by the New York Times, gunfire can be heard during the attack, though it’s unclear if an explosion occurred. Due to decomposition, it was difficult to determine details such as whether the medics had been shot at close range. A previous claim that one medic’s hands were tied was not confirmed in the final autopsy reports, although a Red Crescent spokeswoman had earlier made a similar allegation.
Dr Stray-Pedersen, who was brought in to assist by the Norwegian aid group NORWAC, said the analysis is ongoing and aims to identify whether the Gaza medics were killed in a similar manner or under varying circumstances.
The Israeli military initially claimed the medics were “advancing suspiciously” without lights, but this was later contradicted by video evidence showing clearly marked emergency vehicles with flashing lights stopping before being fired upon. Israel also initially alleged that nine of the medics were operatives for Hamas or Palestinian Islamic Jihad, but later revised that number to six. It has said it will not provide further comment until its investigation is complete.
It comes after the bodies of 15 emergency and aid workers from the PRCS, the Civil Emergency Service and the UN were found buried in a mass grave along with their vehicles in southern Gaza in March. The UN and the Red Crescent accused Israeli forces of killing them after they were dispatched to respond to reports of injuries from Israeli air strikes. This was confirmed by video footage recovered from one of the bodies, leading the Israeli army to change its account of the deadly incident.
The only known survivor of the incident, PRCS paramedic Munther Abed, said soldiers had opened fire on clearly marked emergency response vehicles. Video evidence has confirmed this.
READ: Germany demands ‘comprehensive investigation’ into Israel’s killings of medics in Gaza