Autopsies show Gaza medics were shot in head by Israeli forces

Most of the 15 aid workers killed by Israel in Gaza last month died from gunshots to the head or chest, according to autopsy reports.

Autopsy reports for 14 of the 15 workers killed in a 23 March attack by Israeli forces were obtained by The New York Times. The report for one aid worker, who was a UN employee, was not included.

The other workers were from the Palestinian Red Crescent and Civil Defence.

The autopsy was performed by the head of the Gaza Health Ministry’s forensic medicine unit and was reviewed by Dr. Arne Stray-Pedersen, a forensic pathologist from Norway who was in Gaza training doctors in forensic medicine.

Eleven men had gunshot wounds, with at least six being shot in their chest or backs and four being shot in the head – most were shot “multiple times”.

The report also revealed that one medic had several shrapnel wounds in his chest and abdomen, two had injuries “consistent” with shrapnel that was possibly related to an explosion.

Several bodies were also missing limbs or other body parts, with one man’s body severed from the pelvis down.

All men were wearing either a Red Crescent or a Civil Defence uniform at the time of their death.

Photos and the report said the bodies were all partly or severely decomposed, making it hard for the doctor to determine whether the medics were shot at close range or from afar.

Bruising and marks on some of the first few bodies examined in March suggested the humanitarians had been tied up, however, the current autopsy does not mention this.

Dr Dhair and Stray-Pedersen said they will continue to analyse the results before issuing a final report.

Fifteen paramedics and rescue workers from the Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) and Gaza’s Civil Defence were killed by Israeli forces on 23 March after “vanishing” while attending to wounded civilians in Rafah. The killing has been described as a war crime.

Their bodies had been recovered from a grave in the sand on 31 March, buried near “wrecked & well-marked vehicles”.

The Israeli army initially insisted it fired at “terrorists” approaching them in “suspicious vehicles”, with military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Nadav Shoshani claiming that the ambulance had no prior clearance from the authorities and the lights were off.

However, this was later proven to be false.

A video released by the PRCS showed a lit clearly-marked ambulance, with uniformed medics inside before the shooting.