The Israeli military has said “professional failures” led to the killing of 15 emergency workers in Gaza last month.An inquiry into the incident by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) found a series of failings, including an “operational misunderstanding” and a “breach of orders”.The deputy commander of the unit involved has been dismissed “for providing an incomplete and inaccurate report during the debrief”.A spokeswoman for the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) said the report was “invalid” as it “justifies and shifts the responsibility to a personal error in the field command when the truth is quite different”. Fourteen emergency workers and a UN worker were killed on 23 March after a convoy of PRCS ambulances, a UN car and a fire truck came under fire by the Israeli military.In a statement, the IDF said its troops opened fire believing they were facing a threat from enemy forces. The IDF said its investigation found six of the casualties were Hamas members, and rejected that there had been summary executions.In an on-the-record briefing, Major General Yoav Har-Even – who investigated the incident – told journalists that the Israeli military maintained that six of the emergency workers were Hamas operatives and said they would later be named. The report said the incident took place in what it called a “hostile and dangerous combat zone”, and that the commander on the ground perceived an immediate and tangible threat after vehicles approached rapidly. It blamed “poor night visibility”, which the IDF said meant the commander did not identify the vehicles as ambulances.Another commanding officer “will recei …
