IDF says troops opened fire on Gaza medics out of ‘sense of threat,’ 6 identified as Hamas operatives

The military’s probe into the killing of 15 rescue workers in southern Gaza’s Rafah on March 23 was presented to IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir today by the head of the Southern Command, Maj. Gen. Yaniv Asor.

In a statement, the IDF says that Zamir ordered the General Staff Fact-Finding Assessment Mechanism, an independent military body responsible for investigating unusual incidents during the war, to “deepen and complete” the probe in the coming days and present it to him.

“The IDF is investigating the incident, which took place in a combat zone, in order to reach the truth,” the military says.

“The initial investigation revealed that the force opened fire due to a sense of threat following a previous exchange of fire in the area. Also, six Hamas terrorists were identified among those killed in the incident,” the IDF says.

“All of the claims relating to the incident will be examined through the mechanism and will be presented in a detailed and thorough manner, for the purpose of deciding on how this incident is handled,” the military adds.