Israeli military fires deputy commander as it releases findings of investigation into deadly attack on aid workers
The Israeli military has said its investigation into the killing of aid workers in Gaza has found there were “several professional failures, breaches of orders, and a failure to fully report the incident”.
A commanding officer will be reprimanded and a deputy commander will be dismissed following the military investigation, the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said.
Fifteen aid workers were shot dead by Israeli troops who opened fire on a convoy of vehicles, including ambulances, on 23 March.
They were then buried in a shallow grave where their bodies were found a week later by officials from the United Nations and the Palestinian Red Crescent.
The probe’s findings come after a Sky News investigation earlier this week revealed how the deadly attack unfolded, contradicting Israel’s official account of the killings.
At first, Israel claimed the medics’ vehicles did not have emergency signals on when troops fired their shots, but later backtracked.
Mobile phone footage which was recovered from one of the medics contradicted Israel’s initial account.
In a statement on Sunday, an IDF spokesperson said: “The Commanding Officer of the 14th Brigade will receive a reprimand, which will be recorded in his personal file, for his overall responsibility for the incident, including the procedure of combat and management of the scene afterward.
“The deputy commander of the Golani Reconnaissance Battalion will be dismissed from his position due to his responsibilities as the field commander in this incident and for providing an incomplete and inaccurate report during the debrief.”
Footage was released of the attack on 23 March
‘Poor night visibility’
The investigation found that the deputy commander did not initially recognise the vehicles as ambulances “due to poor night visibility”, according to the spokesperson.
“Only later, after approaching the vehicles and scanning them, was it discovered that these were indeed rescue teams,” they added.
Probe looked at ‘three shooting incidents’
The IDF said that about an hour before the attack on the convoy, Israeli troops fired at what they “identified as a Hamas vehicle” and the forces “remained on high alert for further potential threats”.
In the convoy incident, the IDF said the soldiers “opened fire on suspects emerging from a fire truck and ambulances very close to the area in which the troops were operating, after perceiving an immediate and tangible threat”.
“Supporting surveillance” had reported five vehicles approaching rapidly and stopping near the troops, with passengers quickly disembarking, according to the IDF.
It said the deputy battalion commander “assessed the vehicles as employed by Hamas forces, who arrived to assist the first vehicle’s passengers”, adding that: “Under this impression and sense of threat, he ordered to open fire.”
According to the IDF, six of the 15 killed were “identified in a retrospective examination as Hamas terrorists”.
But the Sky News investigation found no evidence to support this claim.
The IDF also said there was a third incident about 15 minutes later where “the troops fired at a Palestinian UN vehicle due to operational errors in breach of regulations”.
“The troops’ commander initially reported the event, and additional details emerged later in the examination.”
Bodies were buried in mass grave
Eight Red Crescent personnel, six civil defence workers and a UN staff member were killed in the shooting on the convoy by troops carrying out operations in Tel al Sultan, a district of the southern Gaza city of Rafah.
Troops then bulldozed over the bodies along with their mangled vehicles, burying them in a mass grave.
‘Decision to crush vehicles was wrong’
The IDF statement said that at dawn it was decided to “gather and cover the bodies to prevent further harm and clear the vehicles from the route in preparation for civilian evacuation”.
The body removal and vehicle crushing were carried out by field commanders, according to the military.
Removing the bodies was reasonable under the circumstances, but the decision to crush the vehicles was wrong, the investigation concluded, and “in general there was no attempt to conceal the event”.
The probe also found that “the [gun]fire in the first two incidents resulted from an operational misunderstanding by the troops, who believed they faced a tangible threat from enemy forces. The third incident involved a breach of orders during a combat setting”.
World
Ukraine war: Putin rejects peace deal after meeting Trump’s team – and telling Europe he’s ready for war
Talks between US negotiators and Vladimir Putin about Ukraine were “productive” but there was no breakthrough, according to Russian officials.
Donald Trump sent special envoy Steve Witkoff and his own son-in-law, Jared Kushner, to Tuesday’s summit in Moscow.
They were pictured in Red Square prior to the summit and Mr Witkoff later told a smiling Mr Putin that Moscow was a “magnificent city”.
Shortly before the summit, the Russian president warned his country was ready to fight if Europe wanted a war.
Analysis: Why Putin won’t agree to latest peace plan
Russian foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov and investment envoy Kirill Dmitriev were involved in the talks, which lasted over five fours and ended after midnight.
Both sides agreed not to disclose precise details, but in a one-word social media post, Mr Dmitriev described the meeting as “productive”.
Mr Ushakov called it “rather useful, constructive” and asked whether peace was closer or further, he commented: “Not further, that’s for sure”.
However, he said a compromise hadn’t been reached on the issue of territories and that the Kremlin sees “no resolution to the crisis” without one.
Russia wants the whole of the Donbas region – even the parts it does not hold – but Ukraine has balked at the prospect.
Mr Ushakov said there was “still a lot of work to be done, both in Washington and in Moscow” and that “contacts will continue”.
The two sides were joined by translators. Pic: Sputnik/AP
Pic: Reuters
Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff were joined by Kirill Dmitriev (2nd right) and Yuri Ushakov (left). Pic: Reuters
The meeting took place after an initial 28-point US peace plan was leaked and alarmed European officials, who said it heavily favoured Russia.
An “updated and refined peace framework” was formulated after talks between Europe, the US, and Ukraine in Geneva last month, but Mr Putin has indicated he will not accept it.
Putin: Europe on the side of war
Earlier on Tuesday, Mr Putin said Russia was ready to fight if Europe wanted a war.
The Russian president accused European powers of changing peace proposals for Ukraine with “demands” that Russia considered “absolutely unacceptable”.
Mr Putin said the Europeans were “on the side of war”.
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Putin ‘lashes out’ at Europe
“We’re not planning to go to war with Europe, I’ve said that a hundred times,” he said following an investment forum.
“But if Europe suddenly wants to fight us and starts, we’re ready right now. There can be no doubt about that.”
“If Europe suddenly wants to start a war with us and does, then a situation could very quickly arise in which we have no one to negotiate with,” he added.
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Putin trying to frighten US away from Europe with war remarks
Zelenskyy in Dublin
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was in Dublin on Tuesday to meet Ireland’s prime minister and president.
During the trip, Mr Zelenskyy said he was ready to meet Mr Trump again, but it would depend on how successful the Moscow talks were.
He said the chances of ending the war were “better now than ever” but warned there would be “no easy decisions” and there must be “no games behind Ukraine’s back”.
President Zelenskyy had a guard of honour in Dublin. Pic: Reuters
Calling it “one of the most challenging but optimistic moments” since Russia invaded in 2022, he said the US was “taking serious steps to end this war one way or another”.
He admitted “some things still need to be worked out” and said a “decent, dignified peace” was needed.
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President Zelenskyy, his wife Olena, and Irish President Catherine Connolly. Pic: Reuters
The Irish government announced €100m (£88m) in non-lethal aid for Ukraine, “generosity” for which Mr Zelenskyy said Ukraine was grateful.
It brings the total in non-lethal military aid provided to Ukraine this year to €200m (£176m).
The funding is part of a new Ireland-Ukraine partnership, which builds on an agreement signed last year.
It includes €25m (£22m) for the restoration and protection of energy infrastructure and a scheme to support training and other efforts as part of Ukraine’s path to EU accession, which Mr Zelenskyy said he hoped to achieve within five years.
The Americans were given the full VIP treatment on their visit to Moscow.
There was a motorcade from the airport, lunch at a Michelin-starred restaurant, and even a stroll around Red Square.
It felt like Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner were on more of a tourist trail than the path to peace.
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Trump’s envoys walk around Moscow
They finally got down to business in the Kremlin more than six hours after arriving in Russia. And by that point, it was already clear that the one thing they had come to Moscow for wasn’t on offer: Russia’s agreement to their latest peace plan.
According to Vladimir Putin, it’s all Europe’s fault. While his guests were having lunch, he was busy accusing Ukraine’s allies of blocking the peace process by imposing demands that are unacceptable to Russia.
The Europeans, of course, would say it’s the other way round.
But where there was hostility to Europe, only hospitality to the Americans – part of Russia’s strategy to distance the US from its NATO allies, and bring them back to Moscow’s side.
Vladimir Putin and Steve Witkoff shaking hands in August. AP file pic
Putin thinks he’s winning…
Russia wants to return to the 28-point plan that caved in to its demands. And it believes it has the right to because of what’s happening on the battlefield.
It’s no coincidence that on the eve of the US delegation’s visit to Moscow, Russia announced the apparent capture of Pokrovsk, a key strategic target in the Donetsk region.
It was a message designed to assert Russian dominance, and by extension, reinforce its demands rather than dilute them.
Read more:
Michael Clarke answers your Ukraine war questions
‘Thousands’ of Westerners applying to live in Russia
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‘Everyone must be on this side of peace’
…and believes US-Russian interests are aligned
The other reason I think Vladimir Putin doesn’t feel the need to compromise is because he believes Moscow and Washington want the same thing: closer US-Russia relations, which can only come after the war is over.
It’s easy to see why. Time and again in this process, the US has defaulted to a position that favours Moscow. The way these negotiations are being conducted is merely the latest example.
With Kyiv, the Americans force the Ukrainians to come to them – first in Geneva, then Florida.
As for Moscow, it’s the other way around. Witkoff is happy to make the long overnight journey, and then endure the long wait ahead of any audience with Putin.
It all gives the impression that when it comes to Russia, the US prefers to placate rather than pressure.
According to the Kremlin, both Russia and the US have agreed not to disclose the details of yesterday’s talks in Moscow.
I doubt Volodymyr Zelenskyy is filled with hope.
The Pope has urged Donald Trump not to try to oust Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro using military force.
Leo, the first American pontiff, said it would be better to attempt dialogue or impose economic pressure on Venezuela if Washington wants to pursue change there.
The Trump administration has been weighing options to combat what it has portrayed as Mr Maduro’s role in supplying illegal drugs that have killed Americans.
The socialist Venezuelan president has denied having any links to the illegal drug trade.
Pope Leo XIV aboard a flight to Rome. Pic: Reuters
Asked during a news conference about President Trump’s threats to remove Mr Maduro by force, the Pope said: “It is better to search for ways of dialogue, or perhaps pressure, including economic pressure.”
He added that Washington should search for other ways to achieve change “if that is what they want to do in the United States”.
The Pope was speaking as he flew home from a visit to Turkey and Lebanon – his first overseas trip in the role.
Mr Maduro has said Venezuelans are ready to defend their country as the US considers a land attack.
Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro in Caracas. Pic: Reuters
The president held a rally in Caracas amid heightened tensions with Mr Trump’s administration, which has been targeting what it says are boats carrying drug smugglers.
Mr Trump met his national security team on Monday evening, having warned last week that land strikes would start “very soon”.
It’s not been confirmed what was discussed at the meeting, but White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters: “There’s many options at the president’s disposal that are on the table – and I’ll let him speak on those.”
US forces have carried out at least 21 strikes on boats it claims were carrying narcotics to its shores over the last few months.
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‘The president has a right to take them out’
Mr Maduro – widely considered a dictator by the West – said on Monday that Venezuelans are ready “to defend [the country] and lead it to the path of peace”.
“We have lived through 22 weeks of aggression that can only be described as psychological terrorism,” he said.
Venezuela has said the boat attacks, which have killed more than 80 people, amount to murder – and that Mr Trump’s true motivation is to oust Mr Maduro and access its oil.
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