Israeli soldiers fired 900 bullets during Gaza aid workers massacre, investigation finds

Key points

• Israeli soldiers are accused of firing more than 900 bullets during a two‑hour attack on Palestinian aid workers in Tel Al‑Sultan, near Rafah, in southern Gaza.
• A joint investigation by UK‑based Forensic Architecture and audio analysis group Earshot reconstructed the incident and describes alleged “execution‑style” killings at close range.
• The incident occurred shortly after 5am on 23 March 2025 and resulted in the deaths of 15 Palestinian aid workers from the Palestine Red Crescent Society, Palestinian Civil Defense and the UN.
• Researchers say at least 910 gunshots were recorded, with some 844 shots fired within five and a half minutes, and at least eight shots allegedly discharged at point‑blank range.
• The investigation states there was no exchange of fire and no clear threat to Israeli soldiers, contradicting earlier claims that the area was a combat zone. This information could not be independently verified.​
• Satellite imagery and other material were used to allege that Israeli forces later crushed ambulances, altered the scene with earth‑moving machinery and buried vehicles and bodies in sand.
• Israeli authorities have previously said they investigate incidents involving harm to civilians and aid workers, but at the time of writing had not issued a detailed public response to the latest findings. This information could not be independently verified.

Aid workers killed in concentrated gunfire, reconstruction alleges

Fifteen Palestinian aid workers were killed in southern Gaza when Israeli soldiers fired more than 900 bullets at a convoy of ambulances and support vehicles in what investigators describe as a two‑hour massacre near Tel Al‑Sultan, a new reconstruction has found. The joint forensic study by London‑based Forensic Architecture and audio analysis agency Earshot concludes that the victims, including staff from the Palestine Red Crescent Society, Palestinian Civil Defense and a United Nations employee, were subjected to sustained gunfire and close‑range shootings in an incident on 23 March 2025.

The report, released this week and hosted by independent outlet Drop Site News, asserts that Israeli troops opened fire on clearly marked emergency vehicles in a non‑combat environment and later attempted to conceal evidence at the scene. Israeli officials were reported to have initially characterised the area as a combat zone, but the investigators say they found no indication of an exchange of fire in or around the site. This information could not be independently verified.

Forensic reconstruction and use of audio evidence

According to the investigation, Forensic Architecture and Earshot built a three‑dimensional digital reconstruction of the attack site using satellite imagery, video footage, photographic material and witness accounts. Audio recordings, including a video filmed by paramedic Refaat Radwan shortly before he was killed, were analysed to identify the timing, direction and intensity of gunfire.

The researchers say they documented at least 910 individual shots, with around 844 gunshots occurring within a five‑and‑a‑half‑minute period captured on Radwan’s video, indicating what they describe as concentrated fire on the aid workers and their vehicles. Using echolocation techniques and audio‑ballistic analysis, the teams report that they were able to map the probable positions and movements of Israeli soldiers during the incident, including as they allegedly advanced on immobilised ambulances.

Claims of “execution‑style” shootings at close range

The reconstruction states that Israeli forces first disabled or stopped the aid convoy’s vehicles and then moved towards them, firing into the ambulances and at medics and support staff as they sought to assist their colleagues. At least eight shots are alleged to have been fired from between one and four metres away, leading investigators to describe elements of the incident as “execution‑style” killings.

Forensic expert Ahmad Dhaher, who examined several of the bodies at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, told The Guardian that wound patterns pointed to close‑range, targeted shots, including injuries to the head, heart and torso. He cautioned that decomposition limited the certainty of some conclusions but said initial analysis suggested the victims were “executed rather than shot from afar”. The latest reconstruction echoes that assessment, arguing that the trajectories and clustering of bullets are consistent with deliberate shootings at short distance.

Victims, survivors and alleged treatment in custody

Investigators identified the dead as eight members of the Palestine Red Crescent Society, six Palestinian Civil Defense workers and one UN staff member, all of whom were operating marked emergency or support vehicles in Tel Al‑Sultan. The report notes that the ambulances and other vehicles displayed prominent medical insignia and had emergency lights activated when they came under fire.

Only two people are reported to have survived the ambush. One survivor was later detained by Israeli forces, held for more than a month, and allegedly subjected to torture and prolonged interrogation before being released, according to the reconstruction. This information could not be independently verified. The driver of a UN‑marked Toyota who passed the area about an hour after the initial assault was also killed when his vehicle was hit, the report states.

Alleged cover‑up and alteration of the scene

The investigation further claims that Israeli forces used heavy earth‑moving machinery at the site in the hours after the shooting, transforming the landscape and burying evidence. Analysis of commercial satellite imagery is said to show that ambulances and other vehicles were crushed and pushed into sand, along with the bodies of those killed.

According to the report, the remains of fourteen victims were recovered from a mass grave near the site on 30 March, while the body of another victim had been found nearby several days earlier. Researchers argue that the timing and pattern of earthworks visible in imagery are consistent with an attempt to conceal the scale and nature of the incident. This information could not be independently verified.

Israeli position and previous official responses

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have not publicly released a detailed, case‑specific investigation into the Tel Al‑Sultan shootings matching the findings set out by Forensic Architecture and Earshot. In past statements about other incidents involving aid workers, including the April 2024 airstrikes that killed World Central Kitchen staff in Deir el‑Balah, the IDF has acknowledged responsibility, cited operational mistakes and announced disciplinary measures against several officers.

In its April 2024 account of the World Central Kitchen incident, the IDF said forces misidentified convoy vehicles as containing armed militants and described the attack as a “serious mistake” during an operation to move humanitarian aid. The military has repeatedly said it seeks to avoid civilian casualties and investigates allegations of wrongdoing by its personnel. At the time of publication, media outlets reported no comprehensive public response from Israeli authorities addressing the specific allegations in the Tel Al‑Sultan reconstruction. This information could not be independently verified.

Wider context of aid access and civilian protection

The Tel Al‑Sultan incident forms part of a broader pattern of lethal episodes involving Palestinians seeking or delivering aid in the Gaza Strip during the ongoing conflict. In separate reporting, Al Jazeera’s Sanad unit previously concluded that the Israeli army deliberately struck a World Central Kitchen convoy in three successive attacks despite prior coordination, an allegation Israel has rejected while admitting error in that case.

Humanitarian organisations and UN agencies have repeatedly warned that the safety of aid workers and civilians around distribution points in Gaza has deteriorated, with multiple fatal incidents reported at or near food and relief sites. According to Al Jazeera, more than 400 Palestinians have died at Gaza aid hubs since a particular operation began, amid concerns about crowd control, live fire and the reliability of coordination mechanisms. These figures could not be independently verified.​

Legal and diplomatic implications

The findings by Forensic Architecture and Earshot are likely to intensify scrutiny from international human rights bodies and legal institutions examining potential violations of international humanitarian law in Gaza. Under the Geneva Conventions, medical personnel, ambulances and humanitarian workers are afforded specific protections, and attacks on clearly identified medical units can constitute war crimes if found to be deliberate and unjustified.

Rights groups and some UN officials have previously called for independent, international investigations into alleged atrocities in Gaza, arguing that internal military inquiries are insufficient. The detailed use of audio‑ballistic and spatial analysis in the Tel Al‑Sultan case may provide additional material for prosecutors or fact‑finding missions assessing responsibility for attacks on aid workers.

What happens next

The publication of the reconstruction is expected to prompt renewed calls from Palestinian organisations, humanitarian agencies and some governments for an independent investigation into the killings in Tel Al‑Sultan. Legal experts anticipate that the findings may be submitted to ongoing international inquiries and courts already examining events in Gaza, where patterns of attacks on aid workers and civilians are under review.

Diplomatic pressure on Israel to provide a detailed account of the incident, disclose any internal findings and cooperate with external investigators is likely to increase, particularly from states that fund major humanitarian operations in the territory. Humanitarian agencies say that clarifying responsibility and ensuring accountability will be central to restoring confidence in deconfliction arrangements designed to protect aid convoys and medical teams in future operations.