Photo by Mohammed Abubakr
The Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) has confirmed the release of paramedic Assad al-Nassasra, who had been detained by Israeli forces following a deadly military strike in southern Gaza last month that killed 15 emergency responders.
Al-Nassasra had been missing for three weeks until the International Committee of the Red Cross informed the PRCS of his detention. He was reportedly among 10 detainees released at an Israeli border crossing with Gaza on Tuesday. The Israeli military has not issued a statement on the release but previously acknowledged holding al-Nassasra during a briefing on its internal investigation into the incident.
The PRCS denounced the military’s findings, accusing Israel of trying to justify what it called a “war crime.” On March 23, Israeli troops opened fire on a convoy of emergency vehicles responding to a call in the Tal al-Sultan area of Rafah. The attack killed eight PRCS paramedics, six Gaza Civil Defence workers, and one employee of the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA). Their bodies were later found buried near their destroyed vehicles.
A surviving PRCS paramedic, detained alongside al-Nassasra, said he was later released. Initially, the Israeli military claimed that its troops targeted “suspicious vehicles” traveling in darkness without lights. However, that account was later retracted after video footage recovered from a deceased paramedic’s phone showed the ambulances using emergency lights. The video also captured the sounds of sustained gunfire and the final moments of paramedic Rifaat Radwan before Israeli soldiers approached the scene.
An internal inquiry released by the Israeli military on April 20 concluded that the deaths of the 14 PRCS and Civil Defence personnel resulted from “an operational misunderstanding” by a reconnaissance battalion that believed it faced a threat. The death of the UN employee, however, was attributed to “a breach of orders during a combat situation.”
The inquiry led to the dismissal of the battalion’s deputy commander for his role in the incident and for submitting an incomplete and inaccurate report.
In a statement, the PRCS condemned the investigation’s outcome, accusing Israel of systematically distorting facts to shield its military from accountability. It also criticized the justification that emergency responders might be linked to Hamas, calling it an excuse to legitimize attacks on protected humanitarian missions.
A senior UN humanitarian official in Gaza expressed concern over the lack of accountability, warning that it undermines international law and endangers global security.
The strike came amid Israel’s ongoing military campaign in Gaza, launched in response to a Hamas-led cross-border assault on October 7, 2023, that killed around 1,200 people and resulted in 251 hostages being taken.
Since then, Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry reports that at least 52,365 people have been killed in the conflict. More than 2,270 deaths have been reported since Israel resumed operations on March 18 following the collapse of a two-month ceasefire.
Palestinian media said at least six people were killed in Israeli strikes on Gaza City on Tuesday, and another four died in an attack on tents sheltering displaced civilians in al-Mawasi near Khan Younis.
The humanitarian situation continues to deteriorate, with Israel blocking all aid deliveries to Gaza since March 2. The UN warns that this has caused acute shortages of essential supplies and threatens the collapse of life-saving services.
UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk urged the international community to act swiftly, stating that the use of starvation or collective punishment in warfare constitutes a war crime. While Israel claims it complies with international law and cites the entry of 25,000 aid trucks during the ceasefire, it has accused Hamas of seizing supplies—an allegation the group denies.
