The Israeli military has attributed the killing of 15 emergency workers in South Gaza last month to a sense of threat.
This was as it had identified six Hamas militants as being in the vicinity during the incident in the city of Rafah.
In a statement on Monday, the military said it was carrying out a more in-depth investigation, but the preliminary inquiry showed that the troops opened fire due to a perceived threat following a previous encounter in the area and that six of the individuals killed were identified as Hamas militants.
The emergency workers were reportedly shot dead on March 23 and buried in shallow graves.
The Israeli military said it opened fire after unmarked vehicles approached in the dark but changed its account after video emerged showing clearly marked ambulances and fire trucks with their lights on coming under fire.
It further stated that a deeper investigation would be conducted in the coming days and its findings would be presented to the public.
Although the Palestine Red Crescent Society has not commented on the Israeli findings, it has called for an independent international investigation into the killings.
It described the targeting of its ambulance convoy as a full-fledged war crime, which reflected a dangerous pattern of repeated violation of international humanitarian law.
The deceased emergency workers were said to be from the UN, Red Cross, Red Crescent, and the Palestinian Civil Emergency Service.
