Israeli medics call for prosecution of killers of Gaza aid workers

360 Israeli medics have signed a letter calling for an investigation into the killing of 15 aid workers in the Gaza Strip's southern city of Rafah and prosecution of the perpetrators.

Israeli soldiers killed the aid workers, nine of whom were medics from the Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS), on 23 March, with video from the incident showing the medics being shot as their convoy was heading to the site of an Israeli strike.

Their bodies were uncovered in a shallow grave seven days later.

"We are shocked by this grave incident. The killing of rescue and medical personnel on duty is a blatant violation of international warfare laws, an act contrary to human morality," the medics wrote in a letter.

"It is inconceivable that such a severe event would go uninvestigated, without a thorough, reliable, and impartial probe, leading to practical conclusions and accountability.

"We are committed to medical ethics and believe in the sanctity of life for every person as a supreme value, both in peace and in war," they added.

The chief of Israel's military, Eyal Zamir, has ordered the military to probe the killings, although the military claims, without evidence, that six of the workers were Hamas members.

The military had initially denied the killings, later admitting that soldiers opened fire on "terrorists" and "suspicious vehicles", with ambulance lights not turned on.

Footage of the incident released by the PRCS shows ambulances with hazard lights on traveling in Rafah before they were fired on.

According to an analysis by Bellingcat of the footage released by PRCS, hundreds of bullets were likely fired at the medical workers.

In two occasions during the footage, the organisation was able to determine that shooting was initiated towards the convoy and likely included the use of machine guns.

Physicians for Human Rights Israel, an Israeli NGO, also condemned the killing, issuing a statement calling the killing "a grave violation of international humanitarian law."

"The repeated attacks on humanitarian workers in Gaza are part of a wider pattern of Israel's systematic assault on Gaza's emergency and healthcare infrastructure. Israel must be held accountable for these crimes."

Both the PRCS and the UN have called for investigations, with the UN's High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk saying that the attack was possibly a war crime.

Israel's war on Gaza has killed over 50,000 Palestinians and left the costal enclave virtually uninhabitable, destroying basic infrastructure such as roads, hospitals and water wells.

Israel has been referred to the International Court of Justice, with nations including South Africa accusing it of genocide, while the International Criminal Court has issued arrest warrants for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defence minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity.