Israeli military officials, confronted with video evidence that contradicts their initial account, now say they were “wrong.”
The Israeli military has acknowledged flaws in its initial accounts of its troops' involvement in the killing last month of 15 people in southern Gaza who the United Nations said were all paramedics and rescue workers.
The admission came Saturday, a day after video obtained by The New York Times appeared to contradict a key part of the military’s earlier version of events. Although the military said it opened fire on the vehicles after they “advanced suspiciously,” the video clearly showed ambulances and a fire truck.
The episode drew international attention and condemnation. After glaring inconsistencies in the Israeli report were revealed, the military appeared to move faster than usual to address the issue. Internal military investigations into dubious deadly episodes can drag on for months, even years.
Here's what we know so far:
Version(s) of the Israeli military
In their initial statements after the bodies were discovered, the military insisted that its troops opened fire as the convoy approached them in the dark “without headlights or hazard lights.”
However, video found on the mobile phone of a paramedic found in the mass grave shows ambulances and a fire truck operating with their hazard lights on as Israeli forces fired.
The military now says initial information from ground forces was “wrong.”
