Latest news with #Nsasrah
Sky News
03-05-2025
- Sky News
Recording reveals details about IDF arrest of Gaza paramedic after aid attack
Asaad Al Nsasrah gripped his father's shoulders as they both sat in their family's tent in Khan Younis, southern Gaza, relieved to be reunited after he was detained for over five weeks in Israeli custody. "It's okay dad, I'm here," he said, gripping his ageing father's shoulders and hissing: "I came back to you. It's okay." Mr Nsasrah was one of the two Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) paramedics who survived an attack by Israeli forces on 23 March, which killed 15 emergency workers. His friends and family members thought they may never see him again. For three weeks after the incident, no one knew if the paramedic was dead or alive. It was only on 13 April that the PRCS announced they had discovered he was in an Israeli detention centre. He's been released, but Mr Nsasrah hasn't yet spoken publicly about the attack on the aid convoy, or about his time in the Israeli prison. But clues are beginning to emerge about what exactly happened to him, and why he was detained for so long - including a new video recording that Sky News has obtained of a call that he made to the PRCS dispatch centre during the attack. This adds to the body of visual and audio evidence that we're collating about what exactly happened that morning. The IDF told Sky News that he was arrested based on their intelligence that indicated his involvement in terrorist activity. "During his detention, he was questioned and held under a temporary custody order. At the conclusion of the questioning, and based on the information gathered, it was decided not to issue a permanent detention order, and he was released," the spokesperson said in an email, adding that: "The IDF operates in accordance with the law." The timeline we've pieced together shows the attack begins at 5.08am, and gunfire can be heard for more than five minutes, during which time over 100 shots were fired. Call made during attack The new video recording we obtained shows that Mr Nsasrah made a call to his colleagues at the dispatch centre after the attack had started. Based on information visible on the screen, the call began at 6.55am, while the video begins at 7.03am and ends at 7.07am. At the start of the clip, we hear multiple voices talking calmly in Hebrew. By this point, given the proximity of the voices to the microphone, it's clear Mr Nsasrah is not in hiding but has been apprehended by the Israeli soldiers. After a short while, a soldier shouts in Hebrew: "Come!" "Leave them here together," a soldier says. A soldier speaks Arabic, presumably to the prisoners. "Shut up, shut up!", he shouts. "Quickly, shut up!" In Hebrew, a soldier says: "Take off your bag at this battery." Expert's view - formal commands Chris Lincoln Jones, a former British military officer familiar with the IDF, told us that this sounded like a formal command by a superior, and the word "battery" refers to a firing position occupied by soldiers. "Battery normally means artillery unit or position. But it doesn't look like that in this context. It sounds like a formal order from a superior and the battery could refer to a firing position or a strongpoint by occupied soldiers," he said. In the recording, the names of multiple soldiers are audible. The IDF has not responded to Sky News' request for comment about which members of the Israeli forces were present at the time. Two minutes into the audio, we can hear a more senior figure addressing soldiers by name - it's clear there's a chain of command. Second survivor also detained Sky News interviewed the only other survivor, Munther Abed, who described being arrested alongside Mr Nsasrah. Unlike his colleague, Mr Abed was only detained for a matter of hours. "The only member of the medics I saw was Asaad al Nsasrah," he said. "He was accompanied by an Israeli officer and was beaten before he placed him next to me. "We used to whisper to one another, I mean, talking in a low voice so that the army would not hear us, and start beating us," he added. After an internal investigation into the incident, the deputy commander of the IDF unit that carried out the shootings was dismissed and another was reprimanded. No charges have been brought against anyone involved. An IDF spokesperson told Sky News that Mr Nsasrah was arrested "under suspicion", and during questioning in the field, they say, they found the suspicion had a basis which led to his detention. The IDF has faced international condemnation for repeatedly changing its explanation about what happened that day - often only when new evidence has emerged. Now he's been released, questions remain about Mr Nsasrah's detention, adding to the growing disquiet about the IDFs conduct.
Nahar Net
30-04-2025
- Health
- Nahar Net
Israel frees Gaza medic detained since troops killed 15 rescue workers
by Naharnet Newsdesk 30 April 2025, 12:20 The Palestinian Red Crescent aid group said one of its medics, Asaad al-Nsasrah, was released by Israel on Tuesday alongside nine other detainees from Gaza. Prisoners released by Israel have said they were ordered by Israel not to speak to the media and fear for their safety. The medic had been detained since Israeli forces killed several of his colleagues on March 23 — eight medics with the Palestinian Red Crescent Society, six members of the Hamas government's Civil Defense rescue group, and a United Nations staffer. Israeli troops bulldozed over the bodies along with their mangled vehicles, burying them in a mass grave. U.N. and rescue workers were only able to reach the site a week later. Nsasrah is one of 10 detainees released back to the Gaza Strip on Tuesday. Among the Palestinians released Tuesday is Mohammad al-Sharif who was taken from Rafah. He said it felt like he had been given a "new date of birth" because he can finally see his family again. "While I was in captivity, I thought that I would not find any of my family members and relatives" if he returned to Gaza, he said. The 10 Palestinians released by Israel arrived at Aqsa Hospital in a Red Cross vehicle on Tuesday, where they were examined by doctors. Some of them said they had been held for around five or six months.
Jordan Times
17-04-2025
- Politics
- Jordan Times
'Help us,' says wife of Gaza medic missing since ambulance attack
Palestinians inspect the damage after an Israeli strike on school housing displaced Palestinians in Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip on April 17, 2025 (AFP photo) KHAN YUNIS, PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES — More than three weeks after an Israeli military ambush killed 15 of her husband's fellow medics, Nafiza al-Nsasrah says she still has no idea where he is being held. "We have no information, no idea which prison he's in or where he is being held, or what his health condition is," Nsasrah told AFP, showing a photograph of her husband Asaad in his medic's uniform at the wheel of an ambulance. The Palestinian Red Crescent said Sunday that Nsasrah was in Israeli custody after being "forcibly abducted" when Israeli soldiers opened fire on a convoy of ambulances on March 23. In the early hours of that day, Israeli soldiers ambushed a convoy of ambulances and a firetruck near the southern city of Rafah as the crew responded to emergency calls. Eight staff members from the Red Crescent, six from the Gaza civil defence agency and one employee of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees were killed in the attack, according to the UN humanitarian office OCHA. Their bodies were found buried in the sand near the site of the shooting in the Tal al-Sultan neighbourhood of Rafah, in what OCHA described as a mass grave. One member of the crew survived the attack. He was initially detained by troops but subsequently released. The Palestinian Red Crescent was able to recover footage of part of the attack filmed by one of the medics on his mobile phone before he was gunned down. An Israeli military official told journalists that the soldiers who fired at the ambulances "thought they had an encounter with terrorists". The video footage contradicts that account as the ambulances had their lights blinking when they came under attack. 'Intent to kill' "At the time of the incident, we had no idea what had happened," Nsasrah said in the plastic-sheet shelter in the southern city of Khan Yunis which she and her family have called home for nearly a year. Her husband's body was not among those found in the mass grave near Rafah. "We heard some ambulances had been surrounded (by the Israeli army), so we called (the Red Crescent) because (my husband) was late to return from his shift," the 43-year-old said. "They told us that he was surrounded but didn't know what had happened exactly." Afterwards, the Red Crescent told her that he had been detained by Israeli forces. "We felt a little relieved but not completely because detainees often face torture. So we are still afraid," Nsasrah said, her voice drowned out by the persistent buzz of an Israeli surveillance drone overhead. When the Red Crescent announced he had been detained, AFP reached out to the Israeli military for confirmation. The military responded by referring AFP to an earlier statement noting that armed forces chief Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir had ordered a thorough investigation into the attack. The March 23 killings occurred days into a renewed Israeli offensive in the Hamas-ruled territory and drew international condemnation. The Palestinian Red Crescent has charged that Israeli soldiers shot the medics in their upper body with "intent to kill". Nsasrah, her husband and their six children have been living under canvas in Khan Yunis since May last year. Despite the hardship, she remains determined to get her husband back. "I call on the international community to help us get any information on Asaad Al-Nsasrah," she said. "I ask to obtain information about his health condition and to allow us to visit him or to help us get him released." Page 2
Al Arabiya
17-04-2025
- Al Arabiya
‘Help us,' pleads wife of Gaza medic missing since the ambulance attack
More than three weeks after an Israeli military ambush killed 15 of her husband's fellow medics, Nafiza al-Nsasrah says she still has no idea where he is being held. 'We have no information, no idea which prison he's in or where he is being held, or what his health condition is,' Nsasrah told AFP, showing a photograph of her husband Asaad in his medic's uniform at the wheel of an ambulance. The Palestinian Red Crescent said Sunday that Nsasrah was in Israeli custody after being 'forcibly abducted' when Israeli soldiers opened fire on a convoy of ambulances on March 23. In the early hours of that day, Israeli soldiers ambushed a convoy of ambulances and a firetruck near the southern city of Rafah as the crew responded to emergency calls. Eight staff members from the Red Crescent, six from the Gaza civil defense agency and one employee of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees were killed in the attack, according to the UN humanitarian office OCHA. Their bodies were found buried in the sand near the site of the shooting in the Tal al-Sultan neighborhood of Rafah, in what OCHA described as a mass grave. One member of the crew survived the attack. He was initially detained by troops but subsequently released. The Palestinian Red Crescent was able to recover footage of part of the attack filmed by one of the medics on his mobile phone before he was gunned down. An Israeli military official told journalists that the soldiers who fired at the ambulances 'thought they had an encounter with terrorists'. The video footage contradicts that account as the ambulances had their lights blinking when they came under attack. 'Intent to kill' 'At the time of the incident, we had no idea what had happened,' Nsasrah said in the plastic-sheet shelter in the southern city of Khan Yunis which she and her family have called home for nearly a year. Her husband's body was not among those found in the mass grave near Rafah. 'We heard some ambulances had been surrounded (by the Israeli army), so we called (the Red Crescent) because (my husband) was late to return from his shift,' the 43-year-old said. 'They told us that he was surrounded but didn't know what had happened exactly.' Afterwards, the Red Crescent told her that he had been detained by Israeli forces. 'We felt a little relieved but not completely because detainees often face torture. So we are still afraid,' Nsasrah said, her voice drowned out by the persistent buzz of an Israeli surveillance drone overhead. When the Red Crescent announced he had been detained, AFP reached out to the Israeli military for confirmation. The military responded by referring AFP to an earlier statement noting that armed forces chief Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir had ordered a thorough investigation into the attack. The March 23 killings occurred days into a renewed Israeli offensive in the Hamas-ruled territory and drew international condemnation. The Palestinian Red Crescent has charged that Israeli soldiers shot the medics in their upper body with 'intent to kill'. Nsasrah, her husband and their six children have been living under canvas in Khan Yunis since May last year. Despite the hardship, she remains determined to get her husband back. 'I call on the international community to help us get any information on Asaad Al-Nsasrah,' she said. 'I ask to obtain information about his health condition and to allow us to visit him or to help us get him released.'
Yahoo
17-04-2025
- Yahoo
'Help us,' says wife of Gaza medic missing since ambulance attack
More than three weeks after an Israeli military ambush killed 15 of her husband's fellow medics, Nafiza al-Nsasrah says she still has no idea where he is being held. "We have no information, no idea which prison he's in or where he is being held, or what his health condition is," Nsasrah told AFP, showing a photograph of her husband Asaad in his medic's uniform at the wheel of an ambulance. The Palestinian Red Crescent said Sunday that Nsasrah was in Israeli custody after being "forcibly abducted" when Israeli soldiers opened fire on a convoy of ambulances on March 23. In the early hours of that day, Israeli soldiers ambushed a convoy of ambulances and a firetruck near the southern city of Rafah as the crew responded to emergency calls. Eight staff members from the Red Crescent, six from the Gaza civil defence agency and one employee of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees were killed in the attack, according to the UN humanitarian office OCHA. Their bodies were found buried in the sand near the site of the shooting in the Tal al-Sultan neighbourhood of Rafah, in what OCHA described as a mass grave. One member of the crew survived the attack. He was initially detained by troops but subsequently released. The Palestinian Red Crescent was able to recover footage of part of the attack filmed by one of the medics on his mobile phone before he was gunned down. An Israeli military official told journalists that the soldiers who fired at the ambulances "thought they had an encounter with terrorists". The video footage contradicts that account as the ambulances had their lights blinking when they came under attack. - 'Intent to kill' - "At the time of the incident, we had no idea what had happened," Nsasrah said in the plastic-sheet shelter in the southern city of Khan Yunis which she and her family have called home for nearly a year. Her husband's body was not among those found in the mass grave near Rafah. "We heard some ambulances had been surrounded (by the Israeli army), so we called (the Red Crescent) because (my husband) was late to return from his shift," the 43-year-old said. "They told us that he was surrounded but didn't know what had happened exactly." Afterwards, the Red Crescent told her that he had been detained by Israeli forces. "We felt a little relieved but not completely because detainees often face torture. So we are still afraid," Nsasrah said, her voice drowned out by the persistent buzz of an Israeli surveillance drone overhead. When the Red Crescent announced he had been detained, AFP reached out to the Israeli military for confirmation. The military responded by referring AFP to an earlier statement noting that armed forces chief Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir had ordered a thorough investigation into the attack. The March 23 killings occurred days into a renewed Israeli offensive in the Hamas-ruled territory and drew international condemnation. The Palestinian Red Crescent has charged that Israeli soldiers shot the medics in their upper body with "intent to kill". Nsasrah, her husband and their six children have been living under canvas in Khan Yunis since May last year. Despite the hardship, she remains determined to get her husband back. "I call on the international community to help us get any information on Asaad Al-Nsasrah," she said. "I ask to obtain information about his health condition and to allow us to visit him or to help us get him released." vid-lba/jd/kir
