Israel investigates after its soldiers filmed throwing bodies off roof
Israel’s military has launched an investigation after soldiers were filmed throwing the bodies of three dead Palestinians off a rooftop during a raid in the occupied West Bank.
The incident occurred in the northern town of Qabatiya, near Jenin, and footage shows an Israeli military bulldozer later picking up and removing the bodies.
The images have ignited widespread outrage. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) described the event on Friday as a “serious incident” that does not align with its values or the conduct expected from its forces.
Local Palestinian officials reported that at least seven people were killed by Israeli forces in Qabatiya on Thursday.
Under international law, soldiers are required to treat all bodies, including those of enemy fighters, with respect.
According to the IDF, the raid was a counterterrorism operation in which four militants were killed in an “exchange of fire” and three others died in a drone strike on a vehicle.
A journalist in Qabatiya told the BBC that Israeli troops surrounded a building on Thursday morning, where four men inside fled to the roof and were shot by snipers.
After the fighting ended, the journalist said he witnessed Israeli soldiers climb to the roof, throw the bodies down, and then load them onto a bulldozer.
Asked about the incident shown in the footage, the IDF said: “This is a serious incident that does not conform with [our] values and the expectations from IDF soldiers. The incident is under review.”
The military said that one of those killed in Qabatiya was Shadi Zakarneh, who it identified as being “responsible for directing and carrying out attacks in the northern West Bank area”.
It said he was “the head of the terrorist organization” in Qabatiya but did not specify which group he belonged to.
The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates, in the West Bank, described the incident on X, formerly known as Twitter, as a “crime” that exposed the “brutality” of the Israeli army.
White House national security spokesperson John Kirby described the footage as “deeply disturbing”.
“If it’s proven to be authentic, it clearly would depict abhorrent and egregious behavior by professional soldiers,” he told reporters.
There has been a spike in violence in the West Bank since Hamas’s attack on Israel on 7 October and the ensuing war in Gaza.
More than 690 Palestinians have been killed there since then, the Palestinian health ministry says, as Israeli forces have intensified their nearly daily search and arrest raids.
Israel says it is trying to stem Palestinian attacks in the West Bank and Israel, in which at least 33 Israelis have been killed.
In Gaza, more than 41,000 Palestinians have been killed as a result of Israeli military action, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.
