Israel frees Gazan medic arrested during Rafah ambulance shooting last month
Red Crescent says Assad Al-Nsasrah was detained after IDF fire killed 15 rescue workers in March, drawing global outrage; army probe says six of them were Hamas terrorists
The Palestine Red Crescent Society said Israel released from detention on Tuesday a medic held since March 23, when 15 people were killed by Israeli fire on ambulances in southern Gaza.
“The occupation forces have just released medic Assad Al-Nsasrah, who was detained on March 23, 2025, while performing his humanitarian duty during the massacre of medical teams in the Tal al-Sultan area of Rafah Governorate,” the PRCS said in a statement. Video showed Nsasrah in Gaza.
Eight staff members from the Red Crescent, six from the Hamas-run Gaza civil defense agency, and one employee of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees were killed by Israeli forces, according to the UN humanitarian office OCHA.
Nsasrah was the sole survivor.
The killings sparked international condemnation.
Nasasra was discovered by the troops in the morning and taken into questioning. The IDF had been refusing to allow him to meet with a lawyer.
There was no immediate IDF comment on his release.
A preliminary military investigation released this month “found no evidence to support claims of execution” or “indiscriminate fire” by its troops, but admitted to operational failures and said it was firing a field commander.
The first moments of colleague Asaad Al-Nsasrah’s arrival and reunion with his teammates following his release today, after 37 days in detention by the occupation forces. He had been arrested while performing his humanitarian duty during the massacre of medical teams in the Tel… pic.twitter.com/TzGHbZHeJl
— PRCS (@PalestineRCS) April 29, 2025
It said that the inquiry indicated that “the troops opened fire due to a perceived threat following a previous encounter in the area, and that six of the individuals killed in the incident were identified as Hamas terrorists.” Hamas has rejected Israel’s accusation.
While the IDF has yet to provide evidence for how it determined the six were Hamas members, the Palestinian terror group is known for routinely using civilian infrastructure — including hospitals and ambulances — for its military purposes and for having its members disguise themselves as civilians. These practices violate the laws of war.
The IDF is expected to name the Hamas operatives once its probe is concluded.
The PRCS and Gaza’s civil defense agency rejected those findings, with the PRCS denouncing the report as “full of lies.”
The medics and other rescue workers were killed when responding to distress calls near Gaza’s southern city of Rafah on March 23, days into Israel’s renewed offensive in the Hamas-run territory.
Their bodies were found about a week later, buried in the sand alongside their crushed vehicles near the shooting scene. OCHA described it as a mass grave.
Days later, the army said its soldiers had fired on “terrorists” approaching them in “suspicious vehicles,” with a spokesman later adding that the vehicles had their lights off.
But a video recovered from the cellphone of one of the slain aid workers, released by the Red Crescent, appeared to contradict the Israeli military’s account.
The footage shows ambulances traveling with their headlights on and emergency lights flashing.
The IDF has acknowledged that, based on the video, its initial statement asserting that the ambulances had had their lights off appeared to be incorrect, noting that it was based on the testimony of soldiers involved in the incident.
In its probe, the military acknowledged operational failure on the part of its troops to fully report the incident, but reiterated their earlier statements that Israeli troops buried the bodies and vehicles “to prevent further harm.”
Palestinians have accused Israeli forces of attempting to cover up the incident by burying the bodies in a mass grave, and claims emerged that some of the bodies had their hands tied and were seemingly shot dead from close range, which the IDF has denied.
The IDF has said it had informed the UN of the location of the bodies, which were buried in a mass grave. It added that burying bodies in this way was an approved and regular practice during fighting in Gaza to prevent wild dogs and other animals from eating the corpses.
However, the Red Crescent said that the bodies had been buried “in a brutal and degrading manner that violates human dignity.”
Israel launched its offensive in Gaza in response to Hamas’s October 7 onslaught, during which some 1,200 people were killed and 251 were taken hostage byGazan terrorists.
The Times of Israel Community.