Israeli military walks back account of Gaza medical worker killings

The Israeli military changed its account after the video of the shooting emerged. On Saturday, a spokesperson said in a news briefing that the initial report received from the field had not described any lights, but that it appeared that the “individual who gave the initial account was mistaken.”

The IDF spokesperson said investigators were still looking at “operational information” to try to determine whether and why an error had been made, according to a transcript of the briefing. The spokesperson refused to comment when asked why the IDF had initially described the vehicles as moving “suspiciously.”

The spokesperson said the incident unfolded around two hours after an encounter with a “Hamas vehicle” that the military also opened fire on. Two people were killed and another detained for interrogation, the spokesperson said, during which he admitted to being a Hamas member.

Last week, Palestinian civil defense workers shared video with NBC News that they say show bodies of the emergency workers buried in a shallow grave.

The bodies of eight Palestinian medics, six civil defense first responders and a United Nations worker were among those recovered. Their deaths raised the number of aid workers killed in Gaza to 408, according to the U.N.

The IDF said troops were not trying to “hide anything” by covering the bodies of the first responders killed, and instead wanted to protect them from “wild animals” before moving on to another mission. Asked why the vehicles were also damaged and covered, it said that was “common procedure” to cover them with a camouflage net and that they were damaged while being moved.

The U.N. did not immediately respond to a request for comment.