Sunak Faces Pressure Over Shocking ‘War Crime’ Video
By Patricia Harrity on January 25, 2024
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has been questioned over an ITV News video which shows a civilian being shot dead while waving a white flag in Gaza. The shocking images have sparked war crime accusations, and Sunak was challenged to give his reaction on Wednesday. ITV News at ten.
A children’s clothes seller Ramzi Abu Sahloul, from Gaza, standing unarmed among a group of Palestinian men holding a white flag, was shot dead minutes after speaking to an ITV cameraman. A report aired by the British public service broadcaster showed the events unfolding as the group of five Palestinian men tried to reach family members stranded in a house inside an active combat zone. Source
The Israeli army had instructed the group to evacuate Khan Younis, which has been encircled by IDF forces, but Sahloul’s mother and brother were unable to get out from a house nearby. According to John Irvine, the foreign correspondent for ITV news who presented Tuesday evening’s report, the five men were “doing their utmost to appear non-threatening” to Israeli soldiers nearby. They were “trying to proceed with care”.
Minutes before being shot dead, the middle-aged, English-speaking Palestinian man told ITV: “Nowhere is safe in Gaza. Everywhere you find the Israeli Army. They shoot at us at home, in any building, and in the street. “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, God willing.”
As smoke billowed and gunfire echoed in the background, signaling nearby combat, the ITV cameraman concluded the interview and walked away. ITV said the cameraman “turned to get one last picture of the group” when gunfire rang out again. The broadcaster aired footage which showed the group ducking for cover and moving away as the shots ring out. The footage then shows the group huddled around a member who had fallen to the ground.
“The interviewee had been shot and fatally wounded,” Irvine says. “As they tried to carry him to safety, there was the sound of more gunfire and the whoosh of a bullet passing nearby,” his voiceover adds, “suggesting the group was still being targeted”.
The IDF claimed ignorance of the specific incident, stating that the video was “clearly edited”. Source
The ITV News at Ten Report on the Murder. “No place safe in Gaza everywhere you are going you will find the Israelian army they shoot us at home, any building in the street, everywhere you are they will give you a chance sometimes just for 5 minutes sometimes do not give you a chance to take your clothes to take your children to take your family and to get out of the building this is our life in Gaza”
The video below taken the previous day by Mohammed Abu Safia, an ITV News cameraman, showed a group of civilians in the enclave holding a white flag.
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Moment innocent civilian brandishing white flag in Gaza 'safe zone' is shot dead | ITV News
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