A PALESTINIAN MAN walking in a group waving a white flag was shot dead in Gaza by the Israel Defence Forces (IDF), ITV News is reporting.
A cameraman working for the media outlet was filming scenes in Gaza when the incident occurred.
The footage shows a group of men walking on a footpath close to a combat zone.
They have their hands up and are visibly waving a white flag, the international symbol of a truce.
ITV News said the men were unarmed.
Speaking on camera one of the men, Ramzi Abu Sahloul, said the group was trying to reach his mother and brother to escort them out of harm’s way.
He is quoted as saying: “I have my mother and brother in there, with around 50 or 70 displaced people in another house.
“The Israelis came to us and told us to evacuate but they didn’t let my brother out. We want to go and try to get them out, god willing.”
Gunfire can be heard in the background and large plumes of black smoke from the ongoing assault are visible in the footage.
When the interview was complete, the cameraman walked away.
Shortly afterwards, the cameraman was filming the men walking further down the street. A member of the group is still waving the white flag.
A number of bullets are fired in the men’s direction by someone off camera.
Ramzi Abu Sahloul is shot and collapses. The other men place the white flag on his chest and carry him away. The white flag quickly turns red with blood.
The 51-year-old husband and father wasn’t moving and it seems his death was almost instantaneous, ITV News reports.
The other men carried his body to a safer place. His widow is filmed running towards her husband’s body and is incredibly distressed.
IDF denial
In response to a request from ITV News, the IDF said it categorically denies any existence of “field executions”.
An IDF statement notes: “It is imperative to emphasise that the alarming, libelous and a gross mischaracterisation of the war with these despicable accusations can only be deemed as an extension of Hamas’ propaganda effort to defame the IDF and undermine our objective to dismantle Hamas and ensure the terrorist entity never again holds the power to build a terrorist army, invade Israel, murder, burn, rape and abduct Israelis.”
The IDF has been accused of killing people waving white flags in the past.
In December, the IDF confirmed that three Israeli hostages – who had been waving a white flag and were shirtless – were “mistakenly” shot dead by Israeli troops.
The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza today said that at least 25,700 people have been killed in the Palestinian territory since the conflict with Israel started on 7 October.
A ministry statement said at least 210 people were killed over the past 24 hours, while another 63,740 have been wounded since the war began.
The offensive began in response to the unprecedented attack by Hamas fighters on 7 October that resulted in the deaths of about 1,140 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.
The militant group also seized about 250 hostages during the attack, with around 132 still remaining in Gaza.
Contains reporting from © AFP 2024
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