Israeli troops used ambulance in deadly raid that killed Halima Abu Leil

In the West Bank, specifically in Nablus, an incident occurred during a military operation led by the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) on December 19, 2024. During this operation, an 80-year-old Palestinian grandmother named Halima Abu Leil was shot and subsequently died. The IDF later admitted that a vehicle marked as an ambulance, complete with a red light on its roof, was employed during this operation. Footage from a Sky News investigation showed Israeli military personnel exiting this vehicle, armed and geared for combat, which raised serious ethical and legal concerns regarding the action as children and women, including Halima, were caught in this conflict. Referring to the use of a marked medical vehicle by combat forces, international law experts pointed that this could potentially violate the Geneva Convention and be categorized as a war crime. The IDF acknowledged this violation, stating that the use of the ambulance-like vehicle lacked proper authorization, surpassing the bounds of the command. The commander of the Duvdevan unit involved in the raid faced reprimand for this breach of protocol. Nevertheless, the IDF provided no insights into the specifics surrounding Halima's death, indicating only that an investigation into the circumstances was ongoing. Additionally, Francesca Albanese, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on occupied Palestinian territory, remarked upon the footage's implications, suggesting that the actions observed represented a blatant disregard for civilian life, exemplifying an absence of the principle of distinction in military operations and raising the prospect of extrajudicial killing. This case is part of a broader context of violence where Israeli security forces have been implicated in numerous injuries and deaths among Palestinian civilians since early October 2023, with a reported toll of 813 Palestinians, among whom were women and children.