Autopsies Reveal Gunshot and Blast Injuries in Gaza Paramedic Deaths

According to Gaza-based forensic pathologist Ahmed Dhair, autopsies carried out on 14 of the 15 Palestinian medics shot dead by Israeli armed forces in southern Gaza last month recorded gunshot wounds to the head and torso and injuries consistent with explosives munitions. The employees affiliated with the Palestinian Red Crescent, civil defense teams, and UN agencies were shot with "explosive bullets," Dhair informed The Guardian, and in one case there was a bullet that "exploded in the chest."

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) acknowledged the strike but has provided shifting accounts, initially citing operational errors before alleging six victims had Hamas ties which was a claim rejected by the Red Crescent. Footage reviewed by investigators showed ambulances under fire, while the UN reported the workers were buried in a sandy mass grave by Israeli troops, raising the possibility of summary executions.

Human rights organizations, including Amnesty International, denounced the event as a violation of international humanitarian law. This was a humanitarian convoy mission that had been marked as humanitarian mission, with workers in uniforms and no indication of weapons. One of the bodies had wrist bruises, possibly from being restrained.

The fatalities have increased criticism of Israel’s blockade of Gaza, which both the UN and Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) say has paralyzed aid access, turning it into a “mass grave” with pervasive starvation and disease. Since the war started in October 2023, more than 51,000 Palestinians have died, according to Gaza’s health ministry. Israel says it will not lift restrictions until Hamas frees the remaining hostages from its October attacks and dismantles all military forces in Gaza, leaving it defenseless.