- The release of a shocking video by ITV News depicting the fatal shooting of an unarmed Palestinian man in Gaza has sparked much outrage, contributing to Israel’s already substantial list of war crimes.
• Amnesty International and the Norwegian Refugee Council have strongly denounced the incident, calling for accountability. During PMQ’s, Sunak questioned about his support for Israel in light of this incident.
The release of a horrific video, depicting the shooting of an unarmed Palestinian man, waving a white flag in Gaza by ITV News, has sparked much outrage.
Prominent charities, including Amnesty International and the Norwegian Refugee Council, strongly denounced the incident. Today, Rishi Sunak and key US officials faced inquiries regarding their responses.
Captured by Mohammed Abu Safia, ITV News cameraman, the footage from Tuesday’s events showed a group of men in Gaza, holding a white flag, attempting to rescue their family after being evacuated from their homes. Tragically, moments later, one of the men, Ramzi Abu Sahloul, succumbed to a fatal gunshot wound to the chest.
When questioned about the video on Wednesday, the leader of the Norwegian Refugee Council asserted, “It serves as evidence of a war crime.” Speaking to ITV News, Jan Egeland expressed his shock, emphasizing the clear legal obligation to protect civilians, stating that accountability is crucial, even for IDF commanders.
Sacha Deshmukh, Chief Executive of Amnesty International UK, concurred, labelling the footage as “extremely damning evidence” of a potential war crime committed by the IDF.
“Shooting incidents like this are currently occurring with sickening regularity in Gaza and it’s why many Palestinians say that Gaza has now become a free-fire zone in which civilians can be killed at any moment”, he said.
“It’s not good enough for the Israeli authorities to shrug this off by saying they’re ‘not aware’ of the incident – it’s literally just been broadcast to millions of people on a national television station.”
Rishi Sunak is being urged to endorse a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas following the release of the video.
During Wednesday’s Prime Minister’s Questions, Stephen Flynn stated, “Last night, as Tory MPs were once again fighting amongst themselves, the public were sat at home watching John Irvine of ITV News report on footage from Gaza of an unarmed Palestinian man, walking under a white flag, being shot and killed by the IDF.
“Prime Minister, such an act constitutes a war crime, does it not?”, he said.
ITV News Washington Correspondent Robert Moore also questioned White House spokesperson Vedant Patel on the US’ response to the clip. While Patel declined to comment specifically on the video, stating it was the IDF’s responsibility to investigate, he acknowledged the “heart-breaking” loss of civilian life.
Patel said, “Any civilian life lost is one too many, and we have made this clear with the Israelis and will continue to do so. We’ve conveyed to our Israeli partners the need to take every possible measure to avoid civilian harm and to investigate credible allegations of war violations, matters that the IDF should address.”
Pentagon spokesman Brigadier General Pat Ryder told ITV News, “For questions about IDF operations, I would refer you to the Israeli Ministry of Defence. The war between Israel and Hamas is a great tragedy, and the death of any innocent civilians is tragic. We support Israel’s right to defend its citizens but expect operations to comply with the laws of war and facilitate humanitarian assistance to Gaza.”
