• Independent research agency claims 15 Palestinian aid workers were killed ‘execution-style’
• Forensic findings, satellite imagery reveal bulldozers crushed, buried emergency vehicles along with victims; earth berms were constructed to hide massacre

ISRAELI soldiers fired more than 900 bullets at a convoy of clearly marked Palestinian emergency vehicles in Gaza before advancing to kill the surviving aid workers, some of whom were shot “execution-style” at close range, in March last year, a new joint investigation has revealed.

According to Al Jazeera, the report released on Monday by independent research agency Forensic Architecture and audio investigation group Earshot offers the most detailed reconstruction to date of the massacre in Tal as-Sultan, a neighbourhood west of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, on March 23, 2025.

Fifteen aid workers were killed in the attack, including paramedics from the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS), firefighters from the Palestinian Civil Defence (PCD) and a staff member of the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA). The slain aid workers were then buried along with their vehicles.

The Israeli military first called the vehicles “uncoordinated” and later a “professional error,” but forensic analysis indicates a coordinated ambush with no return fire, aimed at killing survivors.

Science of the massacre

The investigation uses “situated testimony” and audio ballistics to determine the gunfire’s distance, weapon type, and direction.

Investigators analysed footage recovered from the phone of slain paramedic Rifaat Radwan, a PRCS paramedic who began recording at 5:09am, when the ambush began. In a video lasting five and a half minutes, at least 844 gunshots were recorded. Combined with other recordings, the total documented count reached at least 910 gunshots.

In the video from one of the last ambulances, Radwan is heard asking his mother for forgiveness and reciting the shahada before dying.

According to Earshot’s analysis, 93 per cent of these shots featured a specific acoustic signature: a “supersonic shockwave”, followed by a muzzle blast. This combination confirms that the camera — and the aid workers huddled around it — were directly in the line of fire.

“The density of gunfire … frequently exceeds 900 rounds per minute,” the report states, noting that, at one point, five shots were fired in just 67 milliseconds. This rate of fire confirms that at least five shooters, likely many more, were firing simultaneously from an elevated sandbank approximately 40 metres away.

“Israeli soldiers ambushed and subjected Palestinian aid workers to continuous assault by gunfire for over two hours”, between 5:09am and 7:13am, the report says.

From ambush to execution

The report challenges the Israeli narrative of a chaotic “combat zone”. Instead, it describes a methodical massacre of Palestinian aid workers on their way to help people injured in Israeli strikes.

The report states there was no exchange of fire or immediate threat to the soldiers, contradicting claims that the incident occurred in a “hostile and dangerous combat zone.”

By analysing the time delay between the sound of the gunshots and their echoes bouncing off a nearby concrete wall, investigators tracked the movement of the soldiers.

For the first four minutes, the soldiers remained positioned on a sandbank before advancing about 50 metres downhill toward the convoy while continuing to fire, according to audio analysis.

This corroborates the testimony of survivor Assaad al-Nassasra, a PRCS worker, who told investigators: “They were walking between [the aid workers] and shooting.”

The most chilling finding relates to the attack’s final moments, as a phone call by paramedic Ashraf Abu Libda reportedly captured soldiers arriving at the vehicles.

The audio analysis identifies specific gunshots where the distinct “supersonic crack” of the bullet disappears, leaving only the muzzle blast. Ballistically, this indicates the shooter was within 1-4 metres (3-13 feet) of the victim.

The shots coincide with Abu Libda’s final sounds of movement, suggesting he was shot while lying on the ground.

Hiding the evidence

The report alleges that Israeli forces attempted to conceal the massacre by deploying bulldozers to the site, crushing and burying emergency vehicles, and constructing earth berms to block visibility, according to satellite imagery from that morning.

The forensic findings match satellite images obtained by Al Jazeera’s Sanad unit, which reported on March 30, 2025, that at least five rescue vehicles were completely destroyed and buried in sand by Israeli forces on al-Muharrarat Street, the site of the massacre.

Published in Dawn, February 25th, 2026