Forensic Report Reveals IDF Fired 900+ Bullets at Medical Convoy in Gaza

A new forensic investigation into a March 23, 2025 attack in Tal as-Sultan, west of Rafah in southern Gaza, presents a data-driven reconstruction that disputes elements of Israel’s initial military explanation. Conducted by Forensic Architecture and Earshot, the report relies on synchronized video, acoustic modeling, and audio ballistics to analyze how 15 aid workers were killed and how the assault unfolded over time.

Ballistics Data And Fire Density

The investigators examined footage recovered from the phone of Rifaat Radwan, a Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) paramedic, who began recording at 5:09am. In a video lasting five and a half minutes, analysts counted at least 844 gunshots.

When combined with other recordings, the documented total reached at least 910 gunshots. Earshot’s acoustic analysis found that 93 percent of the shots contained a “supersonic shockwave” followed by a muzzle blast - a signature consistent with high-velocity rounds passing close to the recording device.

The report states that “the density of gunfire … frequently exceeds 900 rounds per minute,” noting that at one point five shots occurred within 67 milliseconds. Based on echo delays and waveform separation, the teams assessed that at least five shooters fired simultaneously from an elevated sandbank approximately 40 meters away.

The analysis concludes that the convoy of clearly marked emergency vehicles was directly in the line of fire.

Timeline Of The Assault

Using time-stamped echoes reflecting from a nearby concrete structure, investigators tracked positional changes. For roughly the first four minutes, gunfire originated from a fixed elevation. Subsequent widening of echo intervals indicated movement downslope, interpreted as soldiers advancing about 50 meters toward the vehicles while firing continued. The reconstruction describes sustained gunfire between 5:09am and 7:13am - a period exceeding two hours.

The victims included PRCS paramedics, firefighters from the Palestinian Civil Defence (PCD), and a United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) staff member.

The Israeli military initially described the vehicles as “uncoordinated” and later acknowledged a “professional error.” The forensic teams, however, characterize the sequence as a coordinated ambush with “an absence of return fire.”

Close-Range Shots And Aftermath

Audio captured during a later phone call made by paramedic Ashraf Abu Libda recorded gunfire lacking the supersonic crack, leaving only muzzle blasts.

Ballistically, the report associates this pattern with firing distances of 1 to 4 meters.

A doctor who examined the bodies said the wounds were consistent with “execution-style” killings. The findings align with survivor testimony cited in the study, including Assaad al-Nassasra, who said soldiers were “walking between [the aid workers] and shooting.”

Satellite imagery referenced in the report shows bulldozers deployed to the site on the morning of the incident. The vehicles were crushed and buried, and earth berms constructed.

The investigators write that “Israeli military personnel acted intentionally to conceal and disrupt evidence … by burying the bodies of the victims [and] burying the mobile phones.”

The Israeli military has not publicly responded to the specific forensic claims detailed in the report.