A recently surfaced video retrieved from the phone of a slain paramedic has exposed harrowing details of the killing of 15 humanitarian workers by Israeli forces on March 23, 2025, in Rafah, southern Gaza.
The footage contradicts Israel’s official narrative and provides what rights groups describe as clear evidence of a war crime.
The Incident in Rafah
On the morning of March 23, Israeli forces opened fire on a convoy of clearly marked emergency vehicles—ambulances and fire trucks—operated by the Palestinian Civil Defense, the Red Crescent, and the United Nations.
The convoy was en route to recover the bodies of two paramedics killed earlier while responding to an Israeli airstrike in the al-Hashashin neighborhood of Rafah.
Despite being visibly marked and using sirens and headlights, the rescue teams were targeted without warning.
Thirteen additional aid workers were dispatched to retrieve the bodies of their fallen colleagues.
They too were gunned down. Days later, on April 1 and 2, the bodies of all 15 humanitarian workers were exhumed from a mass grave in the southern Gaza sand—buried with their crushed emergency vehicles.
Many of the bodies showed signs of execution: hands and legs bound, multiple bullet wounds to the head and chest.
Disturbing Footage and Eyewitness Accounts
The critical piece of evidence—a video filmed by one of the slain medics, Rif’at Radwan (also spelled Rifaat Redwan)—captures the final moments of the team.
As Israeli forces opened fire, Radwan began recording, realizing they had walked into an ambush.
His voice narrates the chaos: gunfire, screaming, and commands shouted in Hebrew. The video ends with Radwan reciting the shahada—the Muslim declaration of faith—as he prepares for death.
“This is the path I chose — to help people,” he says in the recording. “Allahu Akbar… Forgive me, mother.” He was later found with a bullet wound to the head in the mass grave, alongside his colleagues.
The video also contradicts claims made by the Israeli military, which initially justified the attack by labeling the convoy as “suspicious” and “unmarked.” They further alleged that they had killed “nine militants,” a statement now widely regarded as false.
The visual evidence shows the vehicles with activated emergency lights and sirens, and reports confirm they had coordinated their mission with Israeli forces prior to the attack.
International Reaction and War Crime Allegations
The United Nations and independent monitors, including Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor, have condemned the incident.
The UN’s humanitarian spokesperson, Jens Laerke, called the killings “deliberate” and “deeply shocking,” emphasizing that targeting aid workers under clearly defined humanitarian missions constitutes a serious violation of international law.
In addition to the video evidence, a doctor at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, Dr. Ahmed al-Farra, examined three of the recovered bodies.
He confirmed they were executed at close range, with bullet wounds to the head and chest and with their limbs bound.
Another rescuer who participated in the exhumation independently verified these findings in a statement to The Guardian.
One of the victims was a UN staff member. Another paramedic, Assad al-Nassasra, remains missing and is presumed dead.
Context: Rising Death Toll in Gaza
Since the onset of the conflict in October 2023, more than 50,600 Palestinians have been killed, according to Gaza’s health authorities.
Among them are over 400 aid workers, making Gaza one of the most dangerous regions in the world for humanitarian personnel.
The incident occurred shortly after a temporary truce with Hamas collapsed and Israel intensified its blockade and military campaign in Gaza, worsening the humanitarian crisis.
Israel has faced growing international scrutiny for its conduct in Gaza, with multiple human rights organizations accusing it of systematic targeting of civilians and humanitarian infrastructure. The Rafah massacre has added fuel to ongoing investigations into potential war crimes by Israeli forces.
A War Crime Caught on Camera
The discovery of the video and the mass grave not only sheds light on a brutal and deliberate act but also underscores the dangers faced by those trying to save lives in conflict zones.
The footage, authenticated and published by several international media outlets including The New York Times, serves as a rare and damning piece of direct evidence implicating Israeli forces in the unlawful killing of non-combatants.
The intentional killing of clearly identified aid workers, the destruction of marked emergency vehicles, and the attempt to bury both the evidence and the victims points to a coordinated cover-up—one that now appears exposed.
As calls for accountability grow, observers question how Israel’s allies will respond to such grave violations of international humanitarian law.
For many, this video may mark a turning point in the global reckoning with the Gaza war.
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