Forgive Me, Mother: Paramedic’s Last Words Before Israeli Execution
A heartbreaking video retrieved from the phone of Palestinian paramedic Rifaat Radwan has revealed his final moments before he and 14 colleagues were allegedly executed by Israeli forces on 23 March in the Tel al-Sultan area of Rafah, southern Gaza.
“Forgive me, Mother… this is the path I chose to help people. The army has arrived.” These were Radwan’s final words, spoken in a 6-minute, 42-second video he recorded as Israeli forces opened fire on emergency crews.
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The footage, released by the Palestinian Red Crescent Society, was recovered after his body was exhumed from a mass grave.
The organization said the video captured “the sound of intense gunfire targeting the medical and civil defense teams… amid the screams of some and pleas for help, while others could be heard uttering the Islamic declaration of faith (Shahada).”
It also “reveals that many of the ambulance and civil defense personnel were still alive when Israeli forces arrived, indicating that the army executed them on purpose and with a clear intent to commit this atrocity.”
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The Israeli military claimed on 31 March that it had not “randomly attacked ambulances,” but had instead “observed suspiciously approaching vehicles that did not activate their lights or emergency signals, prompting the army to fire at them.”
It further alleged that the strike “killed a member of Hamas’s military wing, along with eight other operatives belonging to the Palestinian group and Islamic Jihad.”
But the video contradicts these claims, showing that “the ambulances struck by the army had all of their emergency lights activated, and the paramedics were wearing the standard reflective uniforms designated for emergency response.”
Shocking moments were caught on camera as the ambulance teams exited their vehicles to rescue already-wounded colleagues.
Seconds later, Radwan began to say the Shahada, repeating it—a sign that he had been shot, as his voice began to fade gradually.
In the darkened video, the voices of fellow medics could be heard—some crying for help, others repeating the Shahada as well.
With heavy, broken words, Radwan said, “Forgive me, Mother… This is the path I chose to help people.”
He added, “O Allah, accept me as a martyr. Forgive me and have mercy on me.”
Moments later, as gunfire drew closer, he whispered: “The army has arrived.”
Radwan’s statement that “the army reached the area while they were still alive” was supported by the Gaza Civil Defense, which reported that “the bodies of victims were found buried about 200 meters from their destroyed vehicles, wearing the recognizable orange uniforms used in humanitarian and rescue work.”
Civil Defense spokesperson Mahmoud Basal stated: “Some civil defense personnel were found with their hands and feet tied and bullet wounds to their heads and chests—clear evidence they were executed at close range after being identified.
“One civil defense worker was found decapitated, while the remains of the others were reduced to body parts.”
The beginning of the video also shows “the ambulances intact and illuminated—clear evidence that the army deliberately targeted vehicles bearing the Palestinian Red Crescent emblem.”
Basal concluded, “This is a crime beyond imagination—unprecedented in modern history.”
More than 50,600 Palestinians, most of them women and children, have been killed in Gaza in Israel’s military onslaught since October 2023.
Titilope Adako is a talented and intrepid journalist, dedicated to shedding light on the untold stories of Osun State and Nigeria. Through incisive reporting, she tackles a broad spectrum of topics, from politics and social justice to culture and entertainment, with a commitment to accuracy, empathy, and inspiring positive change.
