A joint investigation released Monday by Forensic Architecture and Earshot, reconstructs the killing of 15 humanitarian workers, including paramedics from the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS), firefighters from the Palestinian Civil Defence (PCD) and a staff member of the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), whose bodies were later buried along with their crushed vehicles.
The Israeli military first described the convoy as “uncoordinated” and later acknowledged a “professional error,” but the investigation concludes the attack was a coordinated ambush marked by sustained gunfire, no return fire and the deliberate killing of survivors.
Scientific reconstruction of the attack
The investigation relies on “situated testimony” methodology and advanced audio ballistics to determine the distance, direction and type of weapons used during the assault.
Investigators analyzed footage recovered from the phone of slain PRCS paramedic Rifaat Radwan, who began recording at 5:09 a.m. as the ambush unfolded.
In the five-and-a-half-minute video, at least 844 gunshots were documented, and when combined with other recordings, the total reached at least 910 rounds.
Radwan, filming from inside one of the last two ambulances, is heard asking his mother for forgiveness and reciting the Islamic declaration of faith, the shahada, before he is killed.
Earshot’s analysis found that 93 percent of the recorded shots carried a distinct acoustic pattern consisting of a “supersonic shockwave” followed by a muzzle blast, confirming that the camera and those gathered around it were directly in the line of fire.
“The density of gunfire … frequently exceeds 900 rounds per minute,” the report states, noting that at one stage five shots were discharged within 67 milliseconds.
The rate of fire indicates that at least five shooters, positioned on an elevated sandbank approximately 40 meters away, were firing simultaneously.
“Israeli soldiers ambushed and subjected Palestinian aid workers to continuous assault by gunfire for over two hours”, between 5:09 a.m. and 7:13 a.m., the report says.
Advancing on survivors
The findings establish that there was no exchange of fire in the area and no threat to the Israeli soldiers during the attack.
“There was no exchange of fire in the area, and no tangible threat to the safety of those soldiers. These attacks did not happen in ‘a hostile and dangerous combat zone’, as was claimed by Israeli spokespersons,” the report says.
By measuring the delay between gunshots and their echoes from a nearby concrete wall, investigators traced the movement of the shooters.
For the first four minutes, the soldiers remained stationary on the sandbank.
Audio data then shows the echo interval widening, indicating that the soldiers descended and advanced roughly 50 meters toward the convoy while continuing to fire.
This aligns with the testimony of survivor Assaad al-Nassasra, a PRCS worker, who told investigators: “They were walking between (the aid workers) and shooting.”
Subsequent analysis of a phone call made by paramedic Ashraf Abu Libda to dispatchers captured the moment soldiers reached the vehicles.
The audio reveals gunshots lacking the “supersonic crack,” leaving only the muzzle blast, which ballistically indicates the shooter was within one to four meters of the victim.
These shots coincide with Abu Libda’s final recorded movements, indicating he was shot at close range while on the ground.
A doctor who examined the bodies later confirmed the wounds were consistent with “execution-style” killings.
Wider pattern and legal proceedings
The killings occurred amid the Israeli regime’s ongoing war in Gaza, which has killed more than 72,000 Palestinians.
A recent report in The Lancet found that the death toll during the first 16 months of the war exceeded official figures.
Despite a ceasefire in place since October, Israeli forces have killed more than 600 Palestinians.
Rights groups and scholars have determined that the Israeli military offensive that devastated Gaza constitutes genocide.
The International Court of Justice is hearing a genocide case against Israel, while the International Criminal Court has issued an arrest warrant for war crimes against Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The March 2025 killing of the 15 aid workers drew international outrage, yet Israel continued to receive political and military backing from Western allies, including the United States.
Concealment of evidence
The investigation details deliberate steps taken by Israeli regime forces to conceal the attack.
Satellite imagery from the morning of March 23 shows bulldozers deployed to the site, crushing and burying emergency vehicles and constructing earth berms to obstruct visibility.
These findings correspond with satellite imagery published on March 30, 2025, by Al Jazeera’s Sanad fact-checking agency, which showed at least five rescue vehicles completely destroyed and buried in sand on al-Muharrarat Street.
At the time, the Palestinian Civil Defense described the act as a “crime of extermination,” stating that Israeli forces deliberately “altered the landmarks of the place” and used heavy machinery to hide the victims’ bodies.
“Israeli military personnel acted intentionally to conceal and disrupt evidence … by burying the bodies of the victims (and) burying the mobile phones,” the Forensic Architecture report says.
Survivor al-Nassasra was detained and transferred to the Sde Teiman detention camp, where he was held for 37 days and tortured.
He testified that soldiers confiscated and buried his phone to suppress evidence.
The report also states that one of the two PRCS survivors was later used as a “human tool” at an Israeli military checkpoint near the site of the killings.
Identification of soldiers
In a rare development, audio enhancement enabled investigators to isolate Hebrew conversations among the soldiers during the attack.
The report identifies three soldiers — Elias, referred to as Lalas, Yotam and Amatzia — based on recorded exchanges as they moved among the bodies.
In one recording, a soldier asks, “Lalas, did you finish?” before another voice orders troops to “put the guns on them”.
The investigation concludes that Israeli regime forces carried out a deliberate and coordinated attack on a humanitarian convoy, advancing on survivors and executing them at close range, with no exchange of fire and no threat present.