ISRAELI troops murdered two Palestinians and injured a third on Gaza’s beach, military officials have said.
The comments were in response to a video that showed one man falling to the ground after walking in an open area and then a bulldozer pushing two bodies into the rubbish-strewn sand.
The military said troops opened fire after the men allegedly ignored warning shots. The video was broadcast earlier this week by the Al Jazeera television network. The origin of the footage remains unknown, as is the date of the incident.
Al Jazeera said at least two of the three men seen in the blurry videos were waving white flags before being shot at. The video follows a number of similar clips that have surfaced in recent months showing Palestinians in war-stricken Gaza being fired at or killed while seeming to pose little threat to Israeli forces nearby.
READ MORE: Owen Jones: Starvation may prove to be Israel’s deadliest crime
In January, footage showed a man being shot dead while walking in a group of people waving a white flag. Another video broadcast by Al Jazeera last week appeared to show an Israeli strike killing at least four Palestinians walking on a sandy path in southern Gaza.
In response to the beach shootings, the Israeli army said on Saturday that the video was edited and depicts two separate incidents across different locations in central Gaza.
Al Jazeera said both shootings took place close to each other on a beachfront south-west of Gaza City.
In the video, one man is seen walking away from Israeli forces before he falls to the ground, apparently after being shot. He is seen raising his hands above his head at one point and Al Jazeera said he was waving a white flag in the moments before he is hit.
In a different part of the video, another Palestinian man is seen approaching nearby Israeli forces, waving what Al Jazeera says is also a white flag, before venturing off camera.
Finally, the bodies of two men are seen being dragged through the sand, one after the another, by an Israeli bulldozer. The army said the vehicle was used out of fear that the men may have had explosives on them.
The army said the two men who were killed had carried bags, although no bags were visible in the footage. The military said the injured man was later released after questioning.
READ MORE: UK Government 'trashing international law' over its support for Israel
The Qatari network said all the men in the video were trying to return to their homes in northern Gaza, from where they were displaced earlier in the conflict.
The north of the country has seen the largest level of destruction since the start of the war nearly six months ago, with aid struggling to reach those that remain there.
Palestinians and human rights groups say the Israeli military has used disproportionate or indiscriminate force in its Gaza offensive, leading to heavy civilian casualties.
They say that even when such killings are caught on video, military investigations rarely result in indictments of the soldiers involved.
Israel has held Hamas responsible for civilian casualties because the militants operate from within civilian areas. The army did not say whether the beach shootings would be investigated.
Israeli fire has killed more than 32,000 Palestinians in Gaza, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run enclave.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel