ISRAELI soldiers shot dead two unarmed Palestinian men at close range in Gaza, footage obtained by news outlet Al Jazeera has shown.
The men repeatedly waved what appeared to be white fabric in the video in a sign of surrender and to show they did not pose a threat.
The incident took place near the Nabulsi Roundabout, southwest of Gaza City, as the men tried to return to their homes.
It comes just days after the United Nations Security Council passed a resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire in Gaza as Israel continues its assault that has resulted in the death of tens of thousands of Palestinians.
The footage shows one man approaching the troops, holding up a cloth, while the other turned around but still appearing to raise a piece of white fabric.
The man who turned around is then seen being pursued by an armoured vehicle while soldiers open fire on him as the footage shows him collapsing in the sand.
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A bulldozer is then used to bury the two bodies, including that of the first man who had walked towards the soldiers.
The Israeli army told Al Jazeera that a “thorough and professional examination is required in order to assess the details of the incident”.
However, it also said the video “is edited and does not show the context of the incident,” adding it had transferred its report “to the relevant professional bodies for review”.
Hamas meanwhile condemned the killings, adding that it was “further evidence of the scale of fascism and criminality that governs Zionist behaviour, in the context of the brutal war of extermination against our people in the Gaza Strip”.
It further called on the International Criminal Court to take “necessary measures” to hold Israel accountable for “the crimes they commit against children and defenceless civilians.”
Al Jazeera further reported that the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) – a civil rights and advocacy group based in the US – called for a UN investigation into what it called a “heinous war crime” as it said Israel appears to “kill Palestinians on a whim”.
“This genocide must be stopped, not excused or supported with weapons (and) rhetoric,” CAIR said.
At the beginning of January, the Israel Defence Forces claimed footage obtained by ITV showing a man part of a group holding a white flag being shot dead was “clearly edited”.
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