GAZA — Australia on Sunday called for an independent investigation into the killing of 15 paramedics and civil defense workers by Israeli forces in southern Gaza last month.

“The deaths of humanitarian workers in Gaza are unacceptable,” a spokesperson for the Australian Foreign Ministry said in a statement. “It is appropriate that there is a thorough and independent investigation. Those responsible must be held accountable.”

The demand follows a New York Times video investigation published Saturday, which exposed a deliberate falsehood in the Israeli military’s account of the March 23 attack near Tel al-Sultan, west of Rafah.

The footage, recovered from the cellphone of one of the slain paramedics, contradicted Israeli claims that the convoy was “moving suspiciously” without headlights or emergency lights and was not coordinated in advance.

The army had also claimed that the strike killed nine members of Hamas and Islamic Jihad, a claim now under scrutiny.

Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong told ABC that the international community expects a "proper and thorough inquiry."

The remains of the victims — eight paramedics from the Palestinian Red Crescent, six Gaza civil defense workers, and a UN staff member — were found buried in a shallow mass grave alongside the wreckage of their vehicles on March 30.

More than 50,000 Palestinians — most of them women and children — have been killed in Gaza since Israel began its military campaign in October 2023. — Agencies