The Israeli army revised its account of an incident in which 15 Palestinian medics were killed in Gaza by its forces after phone footage contradicted its claims. 

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Initially, Israeli forces stated they opened fire because the medics' vehicles were advancing suspiciously without headlights or emergency signals. However, video evidence obtained from a phone found in the pocket of one of the slain medics shows the vehicles had their emergency lights flashing and logos clearly visible before coming under fire, according to the Associated Press.

An Israeli army official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, on Saturday (Apr 5), said that the account was "mistaken".

The video showed the Red Crescent and Civil Defense teams driving at a slow speed with their logos visible, emergency lights flashing as they pulled up to assist an ambulance that had earlier come under fire.

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Following this, their vehicles immediately come under attack which then continues for over five minutes. In the footage, the owner can be heard praying.

“Forgive me, mother. This is the path I chose, mother, to help people,” he cries, his voice weak.

Eight Red Crescent personnel, six Civil Defense workers and a UN staffer were killed by Israeli armed forces in the shooting that took place before dawn on March 23 in Tel al-Sultan, a district of the southern Gaza city of Rafah.

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The Palestinian Red Crescent Society's vice president, Marwan Jilani, said that the phone with the video in question was found in the pocket of one of its slain staffers, according to the Associated Press.

Incident 'under thorough examination'

The Israeli military on being asked about the video said that the incident was “under thorough examination.”

Meanwhile, the chief of the Palestinian Red Crescent Society, Younes Al-Khatib, demanded an independent investigation into the incident. 

"We don’t trust any of the army investigations,” he told a press briefing at the UN on Friday (Apr 4).

(With inputs from agencies)