Israel investigates after soldiers filmed throwing bodies from roof

The Israeli military has launched an investigation after its soldiers were filmed throwing the bodies of three dead Palestinians from a roof during a raid in the occupied West Bank.

Footage of the incident, shot in the northern town of Qabatiya, near Jenin, shows an Israeli military bulldozer picking up the bodies and taking them away.

The images have sparked widespread outrage. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said on Friday that it was a “serious incident” that did not correspond to their values ​​and expectations of their armed forces.

Local Palestinian officials said at least seven people were killed by Israeli forces in Qabatiya on Thursday.

Under international law, soldiers are obliged to ensure that bodies – including those of enemy combatants – are treated with respect.

Israeli forces said they carried out a counter-terror operation in Qabatiya, killing four militants in an “exchange of fire” and three others in a drone attack on a car.

A journalist in Qabatiya told the BBC that Israeli troops surrounded a building in the city on Thursday morning.

He described how four men who were in the house fled to the roof and were shot by snipers.

Fighting in the city continued and when it subsided, he said, he saw Israeli troops climb onto the roof and throw the bodies over the side, where they were then loaded onto a bulldozer.

When asked about the incident shown in the footage, the IDF replied: “This is a serious incident that cannot be [our] Values ​​and expectations of IDF soldiers. The incident is currently under investigation.”

The military said one of those killed in Qabatiya was Shadi Zakarneh, who was “responsible for directing and carrying out the attacks in the northern West Bank.”

It said he was “the leader of the terrorist organization” in Qabatiya, but did not specify which group he belonged to.

The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreigners 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 spokesman John Kirby called the footage “deeply disturbing.”

“If the photo turns out to be authentic, it would clearly show abhorrent and outrageous behavior by professional soldiers,” he told reporters.

Since Hamas's attack on Israel on October 7 and the subsequent war in the Gaza Strip, there has been an increase in violence in the West Bank.

Since then, more than 690 Palestinians have been killed there, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry, while Israeli forces have intensified their almost daily search and arrest operations.

Israel says it is trying to contain Palestinian attacks in the West Bank and Israel that have killed at least 33 Israelis.

According to the Hamas-run Health Ministry, more than 41,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza by Israeli military operations.