Latest news with #RifaatRadwan
Irish Examiner
26-04-2025
- Irish Examiner
Mick Clifford: Dispossessed Palestinians are now the oppressed
Rifaat Radwan knew he was about to die. He had been shot, mown down in a hail of bullets. As he lay there, he left a message on his phone for his mother. 'Forgive me, mama,' he said. These were among his last recorded words. He wanted forgiveness for the pain his death would cause her mother, who had worried about him every day since he has signed up to serve as a paramedic in their native Gaza. He was 24 years of age, on a rescue mission to save others, and he was murdered by the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF). There are some incidents in what is described as the fog of war that shine through, cold and hard, to illustrate the essence of what is afoot. The murder of 15 emergency workers on March 23 in Gaza shows the depth of depravity being deployed by the IDF. The incident was one of cold-blooded murder, committed with the specific intention of spreading terror, of cover-up and lies, and when the truth began to out, a tacit acknowledgement that Palestinians are not to be regarded as fellow human beings but instead some sub-species. We know the details of what occurred simply because Rifaat recorded the last 20 minutes of his life on his phone, in picture and sound. That day, an ambulance went to Tal as Sultan, an area in southern Gaza to rescue survivors of an Israeli bombing. Contact was lost with the vehicle and its occupants at around 4am. Another ambulance went out and radioed back that their missing colleagues appeared to have been shot. Two more ambulances and a fire truck were then dispatched, all clearly marked with their lights on identifying them as medical aid vehicles. They didn't come back. For eight days, Israel refused entry to the area where the 15 missing workers and their vehicles were believed to be. Eventually, access was granted. The bodies were buried in shallow graves, the vehicles destroyed. Some of the bodies had hands tied behind their backs. The IDF soldiers involved were part of a brigade whose commander was reported by the Haaretz newspaper as telling his troops that 'there are no innocents in Gaza,' and was filmed telling them: 'Anyone you encounter there is an enemy. You identify anyone, you eliminate him'. Initially, the Israelis claimed that they had come under fire from the vehicles and that they returned fire on suspected 'terrorists'. The phone recovered from the body of Rifaat Radwan showed this to be a central lie in a major cover-up. This week, after being forced into a so-called investigation, the IDF announced that there had been 'professional failures' that led to the murders, including an 'operational misunderstanding'. Palestinian children receive donated food at a distribution center in Khan Younis, Gaza Strip. Picture: Abdel Kareem Hana/AP The deputy head of the unit concerned has been dismissed. Neither murder charges nor war crimes were mentioned in this investigation. In effect, the outcome sounds like something that would emerge from a gun club where the rules weren't followed in killing foxes or rabbits. The term 'professional failures' to justify murdering unarmed innocents is an insult. 'Operational misunderstanding' is a million miles from opening fire on emergency vehicles, fully aware that those inside have no connection to any military body. In the round the Israeli response amounts to, 'ah sorry about that, bit of a mix up, these things happen'. If the incident hadn't been captured on phone, they would have maintained they were 'defending' themselves against so-called 'terrorists'. It is difficult to escape the conclusion that the soldiers saw an opportunity to murder Palestinians and the fact that they were emergency workers provided an extra incentive to spread terror. Recently, on a visit to Vienna, I was in Sigmund Freud's former home, now a museum. A positive feeling permeates the premises, reflecting the huge advances the man known as the father of modern psychology made in treating the human condition. Sigmund Freud was taken to safety in 1938 as the Nazis began persecuting Jews in Vienna. There is also, however, a dark pall over the place. Freud was taken to safety in 1938 as the Nazis began persecuting the city's Jews. Of a population of 200,000 in the 1930s, only 5,000 were in Vienna at the end of the war. Freud, largely, due to contacts from his work, was lucky to get out. His sisters, some of whom lived in the family home, not so. In 1942, they were moved to a designated Jewish ghetto. One of them, Adolfine, died there. Her siblings, Marie, Pauline, and Rosa, were subsequently transported to the Treblinka concentration camp where they were murdered within hours of arrival. It was 1946 before their family found out what had happened to them. Today, memories of the Holocaust have complicated the reaction to Gaza in some European countries. There is guilt that informs a hesitation to outright condemn the government of a country founded by those who survived mass murder. Antisemitism still exists but in some places today, including the United States, it has been weaponised to excuse the slaughter in Gaza. Israelis bristle at any comparison between the conduct of their government and the Nazis, but there are indisputable parallels. European Jews from the 1930s have far more in common with today's Palestinians than they do those who run Israel. The term genocide was coined in the early 1940s to describe the Holocaust, but today its most frequent reference is to the systemic murder in Gaza. Jews were dehumanised by the Nazis, just as Palestinians are today by the IDF. Ghettos were established by the Nazis in European cities to corral the Jews, while Gaza was designed as a place to herd Palestinians, and in the last two years has been reduced to rubble. The Israeli government and its army, just like the Nazis, attempt to cover up what exactly they are at. Nobody is being marched into a gas chamber today, but indiscriminate bombing is pretty efficient as a means of killing. On Thursday, Isreal's recalled ambassador to Ireland, Dana Erlich, posted on social media that it was her country's national Holocaust memorial day: 'It seems that even though 80 years have passed since the end of WWII, one of the more heartbreaking lessons we have learned is that the more things change, the more they stay the same.' Israel's ambassador to Ireland Dana Erlich. She went on to decry antisemitism, which she claimed is rising across the world 'including in Ireland'. Her post showed an inexplicable lack of self-awareness of what is going on today and a deliberate conflation of antisemitism and horror at the slaughter of innocents by the Israeli military. She was correct in her observation that the more things change, the more they stay the same. Today, just as 80 years ago, the capacity for hatred to dehumanise and systemically murder people based on their ethnicity or religion is alive and well. All that has changed are the oppressors, no longer Nazis, and the oppressed, no longer European Jews, but dispossessed Palestinians. Read More UN agency says its food stocks in Gaza have run out under Israel's blockade
Scoop
22-04-2025
- Politics
- Scoop
Euphemistic Practices: The IDF, Killing Aid Workers And Self-Investigation
Few armed forces have managed to make murder and executions the stuff of procedural aberration rather than intentional practice. Killing civilians and unarmed personnel is the stuff of misreading and misunderstandings, albeit arrived at with good conscience. And so it was that the killing of 15 aid and emergency workers in Gaza by the Israeli Defense Forces on March 23 could be put down to 'professional failures, breaches or orders and a failure to fully report the incident', a finding identified by an investigation conducted by the same organisation into its own personnel. In marking its own report card, and giving it a credible pass, the IDF found, using the dulling terms that make murder an afterthought, that the deaths were of minor if regretful consequence. While not explicitly libelling the dead workers, the official press release teeters on excuse and general exculpation, making it clear that, on March 23, 'the troops were conducting a vital mission aimed at targeting terrorists.' The killings took place 'in a hostile and dangerous combat zone, under a widespread threat to the operating troops.' The armed forces were presented with the dilemma of protecting medical and facilities (something the IDF has conspicuously failed to do), with the use by Hamas 'of such infrastructure for terrorism, including ambulances to transport terrorists and weapons.' The thick insinuation that the aid workers were more or less asking for it by being there in the first place emerges with unadorned rawness. And to suggest claims of execution or the bounding of any of the murdered before or after shooting were 'blood libels and false accusations against IDF soldiers.' The IDF press release leaves an impression of forced thoroughness. There had been 'extensive data collection from operational systems, the forces on the ground, and along the entire chain of command.' This had also included 'relevant operational orders and directives, footage from various surveillance systems active during the event, radio recordings.' There was even a reconstruction of the events, the personnel involved questioned. The inquiry identified three shooting incidents: the first involving troops firing on an alleged Hamas vehicle; the second, involving firing on a fire truck and ambulances close to the area where the troops were operating after the deputy battalion commander identified the vehicles as 'employed by Hamas forces, who arrived to assist the first vehicle's passengers'; and the third involving an attack by the IDF on a Palestinian UN vehicle 'due to operational errors in breach of regulation.' The inquiry did little to consider the damning evidence arising from a video of one of the slain workers, Red Crescent paramedic Rifaat Radwan, which prompted the IDF to change its initially fabricated story: that the vehicles had stealthily approached them without lights or markings in the menacing dark. It is hard to imagine, for instance, that 'the deputy commander did not initially recognize the vehicles as ambulances' given 'poor night visibility'. The vehicles were illuminated, the markings palpably visible. But no matter: of the fifteen Palestinians butchered that night, six were Hamas terrorists. None were armed, but that hardly mattered. As for the subsequent gruesome treatment of the bodies, the inquiry also finds little fault. The battalion's covering of the aid workers in shallow graves was intended 'to prevent further harm' (well, they were dead, the harm well and truly done) while clearing the vehicles to allow 'civilian evacuation', another euphemism used by the public relations arm of the IDF to justify expulsions and displacement. Removing the bodies was deemed 'reasonable'; the crushing of the vehicles, suggesting the workings of guilty minds, was not. There had been no intention to 'to conceal the event, which was discussed with international organizations and the UN, including coordination for the removal of the bodies.' In watering down the murderous significance of the killings, the matter of failings, breach of orders and inadequate reporting are eclipsed by the continued commitment to battle Hamas 'while upholding IDF values, operational discipline and orders.' The Golani Reconnaissance Battalion had acquitted itself well, 'operating with great distinction for a year and a half.' Troops had opened fire on 'suspects […] after perceiving an immediate and tangible threat.' This is what happens when students grade their own papers, without invigilation and supervision by an independent authority. The consequence of the inquiry will be mild and, as the entire process has proven to be, bureaucratic in its self-justification. The execution of 15 Palestinian emergency workers on the blood ledger will get you the dismissal of a battalion deputy commander for 'incomplete and inaccurate reporting' and a reprimand for a brigade commanding officer, in this case the 14th Brigade. It's a calculus fantastically obscene, but it is one repeatedly used in various forms when it comes to slaying Palestinians and those who fall victim to the doctrine of expansive force taken by Israel after October 7, 2023.
Al Jazeera
21-04-2025
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
Israeli report on killing of Palestinian medics in Gaza: What to know
The Israeli army has described its killing of 15 emergency workers in Gaza and burying them and their vehicles as a 'professional error'. The bodies of 14 humanitarian workers were found in a mass grave along with their crushed vehicles a week after coming under Israeli fire in late March. One body had been found a few days before. The army said it had 'shrouded' the bodies with cloth and sand to protect them until humanitarian organisations could retrieve them. Israel had blocked access to the site for days, later insisting it was not an attempt to cover up the attack. Here's what to know about the attack, Israel's claims and how the investigation stacks up against other evidence: A video found on the phone of slain paramedic Rifaat Radwan shows the team's final moments. The video, filmed from inside one of the last two ambulances to head out, shows a firetruck and ambulances driving ahead through the night. All vehicles were clearly identified with emergency lights flashing. The vehicles stopped when they see an ambulance and bodies by the roadside, and first responders in reflective uniforms exit the vehicles. Moments later, intense gunfire erupts. As the gunfire continues, Radwan can be heard asking his mother for forgiveness and reciting the Islamic declaration of faith, the Shahada, before he dies. After a review, the Israeli military described the killings as 'professional failures' and a 'misunderstanding'. Nobody has been charged. It dismissed a deputy commander for 'providing an incomplete report' and reprimanded a commanding officer. Major General Yoav Har-Even, who conducted the review, said two responders were killed in an initial incident, 12 people were killed in a second shooting and another person was killed in a third incident. 'The fire in the first two incidents resulted from an operational misunderstanding by the troops, who believed they faced a tangible threat from enemy forces. The third incident involved a breach of orders during a combat setting,' the military statement said. Troops bulldozed over the bodies and their mangled vehicles, but the investigation said that was not an attempt to conceal the attack. The Military Advocate General's Corps, meant to be an independent body under Israel's attorney general and Supreme Court, can now decide whether to file civil charges. The investigative report said soldiers did not recognise the ambulances due to 'poor night visibility' and because flashing lights are less visible on night-vision drones and goggles. It also blamed the now-dismissed deputy commander, saying he mistakenly thought the ambulance was being used by Hamas and opened fire first. Israel has tried to justify previous attacks on protected entities by saying Hamas hides among civilians and uses ambulances to carry out operations. Har-Even told reporters that one of the humanitarian workers at the scene was questioned over suspected Hamas links. The man, Munther Abed, was released the next day. Before the video of the attack was found, Israel's military had said the ambulances had been 'advancing suspiciously' towards its soldiers 'without headlights or emergency signals'. The first responders were 'in their uniforms, still wearing gloves' when they were killed, said Jonathan Whittall, the head of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in the Palestinian territory. Gaza Civil Defence spokesperson Mahmoud Bassal said several team members were found with their hands and feet bound and bullet wounds to the head and torso, indicating they were executed at close range after being identified as humanitarian workers. Without offering proof, the Israeli investigative report said six of those killed were 'Hamas members' although no Palestinian fighters were reported found in the mass grave. Har-Even told reporters that no paramedic was armed and no weapons were found in any vehicle. An Israeli military official said the bodies had been covered 'in sand and cloth' to preserve them until their retrieval could be coordinated with international organisations. The army also said it has found 'no evidence to support claims of execution' and 'such claims are blood libels and false accusations against [Israeli] soldiers'. Human rights groups and international legal experts said Israel's self-reviews often lack independence and transparency. Israel said it reviews its military's conduct through internal probes led by its military advocate general, who decides whether to pursue criminal investigations. But the military has a track record of denying wrongdoing, contradicting itself or blaming low-ranking individuals without broader repercussions for the armed forces. In 2022, it claimed Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh was killed by Palestinian fire until several media investigations debunked that. Israel later admitted it may have shot her 'accidentally' but ruled out a criminal probe. In January, the International Criminal Court's top prosecutor defended seeking arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, citing Israel's failure to genuinely investigate allegations of war crimes. The PRCS and the Israeli rights organisation Breaking the Silence have rejected the findings of the Israeli probe. 'It is incomprehensible why the occupation soldiers buried the bodies of the paramedics,' PRCS President Younis al-Khatib told Al Araby TV. He said evidence such as the video proved 'the falsehood of the occupation's narrative', adding that the Israeli army communicated with the paramedics before killing them.
Saudi Gazette
11-04-2025
- Politics
- Saudi Gazette
Israeli army fired more than 100 shots in Gaza medics' killing, audio suggests
LONDON —commissioned by BBC Verify has found. Two audio experts examined a 19-minute video authenticated by BBC Verify, showing the incident and the moments leading up to it near Rafah on 23 March. The findings support a claim made by the Palestinian Red Crescent that the workers were "targeted from a very close range". On 5 April an Israeli army official said aerial footage showed troops opening fire "from afar". The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) declined to comment on the analysis directly when approached by BBC Verify. A spokesperson said it was investigating the attack and repeated claims that six of the people killed were linked to Hamas, without offering evidence. The Palestinian Red Crescent rejected the allegation, as did a ninth paramedic who survived and was detained by the IDF for 15 hours. The Palestinian Red Crescent said the full video was recovered from the phone of a medic killed and buried in a shallow grave by the IDF. Video filmed by medic Rifaat Radwan who was killed in the incident showed the convoy driving at night, using headlights and flashing emergency lights. At least one medic can be seen wearing a high-vis jacket. Faced with this, the Israeli army changed its account, admitting that its initial statement that the convoy approached "suspiciously" with its lights off was inaccurate. Experts told BBC Verify they used sound waveforms and spectrograms to measure the distance of the gunfire from the microphone of the mobile. Shortened time gaps indicate that the distance between the microphone and the gunfire decreased as the video progressed. They concluded that the first shots were fired from around 40m to 43m away. But toward the end of the video, gunfire came from around 12m away. At a briefing on 5 April, an IDF official told reporters that surveillance showed the troops were at some distance when they opened fire, adding: "It's not from close. They opened fire from afar." One military expert told BBC Verify that any engagements under 50m to 100m would be considered as being within close range. Robert Maher, an audio forensics expert at Montana State University, said toward the start of the footage one firearm is discharged about 43m away from the mobile phone. Maher and another expert, Steven Beck, independently corroborated one another's view that in the final few moments of the audio, shots are fired as close at 12m away. Beck, a former FBI consultant who now runs Beck Audio Forensics, said: "The shooter(s) at these times is much closer, with distances of 12m to 18m. There is a strange pop sound that may be a tire hit by a bullet." He added: "The shockwaves indicate that the bullets are passing close to the recorder microphone — meaning they are being shot at." Chris Cobb-Smith, a former British Army officer with over 20 years experience in conducting investigations in conflicts zones, said that at 50m the Israeli troops would have "definitively been able to identify the convoy as humanitarian" and would have been able to "determine that the personnel were unarmed and not posing a threat". Voices can also be heard toward the end of the recording, shouting in Hebrew: "Get up," and: "You (plural) go back". Over the period of more than five minutes, at times, multiple firearms were in use simultaneously, the audio experts determined. Maher said "the sounds are often overlapping in such a way that it is clear multiple firearms are in use at the same time". Because of the overlap of gunshots, Maher said it's difficult to identify individual shots. But both experts determined independently that there were more than 100 shots. Our audio analysts could not comment on which weapons were being used but Beck said there are "several bursts of fully automatic gunfire". A bullet traveling at supersonic speed first creates a sonic boom — often called a "crack". The sound of the bullet being fired is what creates a second sound, often called a "pop". At close distances, the two sounds are almost indiscernible to the human ear. But by looking closely at the waveform of the audio, the two sounds can be detected and the distance between them measured. What Maher describes as "crack-pop sequences" are visible in these waveforms. Maher said the further away the firearm is from the microphone, the longer the gap between the two sounds. Maher said: "The first few audible gunshots have a crack-pop timing of about 72ms. Assuming a bullet speed of 800 m/s and speed of sound 343 m/s, that time gap implies the firearm was about 43 meters away. If the bullet speed were actually faster, that would move the firearm estimate closer to the microphone." There are limitations to their estimates. For example, analysts told us they cannot be certain of the type of firearm used or of the miss distance, which is how far off the shot is from the intended target. They also must make an assumption about the average speed of the bullet. — BBC
BBC News
10-04-2025
- BBC News
Gaza medics killing: Israeli army fired as close as 12m, audio suggests
Israeli troops fired more than 100 times during an attack in which they killed 15 emergency workers in Gaza, with some shots from as close as 12m (39ft) away, a forensic audio analysis of mobile phone footage commissioned by BBC Verify has audio experts examined a 19-minute video authenticated by BBC Verify, showing the incident and the moments leading up to it near Rafah on 23 findings support a claim made by the Palestinian Red Crescent that the workers were "targeted from a very close range". On 5 April an Israeli army official said aerial footage showed troops opening fire "from afar".The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) declined to comment on the analysis directly when approached by BBC Verify. A spokesperson said it was investigating the attack and repeated claims that six of the people killed were linked to Hamas, without offering evidence. The Palestinian Red Crescent rejected the allegation, as did a ninth paramedic who survived and was detained by the IDF for 15 Palestinian Red Crescent said the full video was recovered from the phone of a medic killed and buried in a shallow grave by the IDF. Video filmed by medic Rifaat Radwan who was killed in the incident showed the convoy driving at night, using headlights and flashing emergency lights. At least one medic can be seen wearing a high-vis with this, the Israeli army changed its account, admitting that its initial statement that the convoy approached "suspiciously" with its lights off was told BBC Verify they used sound waveforms and spectrograms to measure the distance of the gunfire from the microphone of the mobile. Shortened time gaps indicate that the distance between the microphone and the gunfire decreased as the video progressed. They concluded that the first shots were fired from around 40m to 43m away. But towards the end of the video, gunfire came from around 12m a briefing on 5 April, an IDF official told reporters that surveillance showed the troops were at some distance when they opened fire, adding: "It's not from close. They opened fire from afar."One military expert told BBC Verify that any engagements under 50m to 100m would be considered as being within close Maher, an audio forensics expert at Montana State University, said towards the start of the footage one firearm is discharged about 43m away from the mobile Maher and another expert, Steven Beck, independently corroborated one another's view that in the final few moments of the audio, shots are fired as close at 12m Beck, a former FBI consultant who now runs Beck Audio Forensics, said: "The shooter(s) at these times is much closer, with distances of 12m to 18m. There is a strange pop sound that may be a tire hit by a bullet."He added: "The shockwaves indicate that the bullets are passing close to the recorder microphone - meaning they are being shot at."Chris Cobb-Smith, a former British Army officer with over 20 years experience in conducting investigations in conflicts zones, said that at 50m the Israeli troops would have "definitively been able to identify the convoy as humanitarian" and would have been able to "determine that the personnel were unarmed and not posing a threat".Israel changes account of Gaza medic killings after video showed deadly attackSurvivor challenges Israeli account of attack on Gaza paramedicsVoices can also be heard towards the end of the recording, shouting in Hebrew: "Get up," and: "You (plural) go back".Over the period of more than five minutes, at times, multiple firearms were in use simultaneously, the audio experts Maher said "the sounds are often overlapping in such a way that it is clear multiple firearms are in use at the same time".Because of the overlap of gunshots, Mr Maher said it's difficult to identify individual shots. But both experts determined independently that there were more than 100 audio analysts could not comment on which weapons were being used but Mr Beck said there are "several bursts of fully automatic gunfire". How experts analysed the audio A bullet travelling at supersonic speed first creates a sonic boom - often called a "crack". The sound of the bullet being fired is what creates a second sound, often called a "pop". At close distances, the two sounds are almost indiscernible to the human by looking closely at the waveform of the audio, the two sounds can be detected and the distance between them Mr Maher describes as "crack-pop sequences" are visible in these Maher said the further away the firearm is from the microphone, the longer the gap between the two sounds. Mr Maher said: "The first few audible gunshots have a crack-pop timing of about 72m/s. Assuming a bullet speed of 800 m/s and speed of sound 343 m/s, that time gap implies the firearm was about 43 meters away. If the bullet speed were actually faster, that would move the firearm estimate closer to the microphone."There are limitations to their estimates. For example, analysts told us they cannot be certain of the type of firearm used or of the miss distance, which is how far off the shot is from the intended target. They also must make an assumption about the average speed of the bullet. BBC Verify will continue to investigate this reporting by Thomas Spencer. What do you want BBC Verify to investigate?
