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, last March, a new joint investigation has revealed.
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 initially claimed the vehicles were “uncoordinated” and later admitted a “professional error”. But the forensic analysis paints a different picture: a coordinated ambush, an absence of return fire and a calculated move to eliminate survivors.
The investigation relies heavily on a “situated testimony” technique and advanced audio ballistics to analyse the sound of gunfire to determine the shooter’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, filmed from inside one of the last two ambulances, Radwan can be heard asking his mother for forgiveness and reciting the Islamic declaration of faith, the shahada, before he dies.
According to Earshot’s analysis, 93 percent 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.
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.
“There was no exchange of fire in the area, and no tangible threat to the safety of those soldiers. These attacks did not happen in ‘a hostile and dangerous combat zone’, as was claimed by Israeli spokespersons,” the report says.
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 held a fixed position on a sandbank. Then, the audio data shows the echo interval increasing, indicating the soldiers were moving down the hill, advancing roughly 50 metres towards the convoy while continuing to fire.
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 findings concern the final moments of the attack. Analysis of a subsequent phone call made by paramedic Ashraf Abu Libda to dispatchers captures the 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 to 4 metres (3 feet to 13 feet) of the victim.
These shots coincide with the final sounds of movement from Abu Libda, suggesting he was shot while lying on the ground. A doctor who later examined the bodies confirmed the wounds were consistent with “execution-style” killings.
Israeli forces have repeatedly been accused of crimes against humanity and war crimes during their genocidal war in Gaza that killed more than 72,000 Palestinians. A recent report by the medical journal The Lancet says the death toll in the first 16 months was much higher than the official figures. Despite a “ceasefire” in place since October, Israel has killed more than 600 Palestinians.