White House national security spokesman John Kirby said Friday that video footage of Israel Defense Forces troops pushing the bodies of three Palestinian gunmen off a rooftop earlier this week are “deeply disturbing,” adding that the US is waiting for the results of an IDF investigation into the incident.
The video, apparently filmed following an exchange of fire in the West Bank city of Qabatiya on Thursday, would “depict an egregious behavior by professional soldiers,” if found to be authentic, Kirby said.
“We reached out immediately to our Israeli counterparts about it, and we pressed them for more details. They have assured us that they’re going to investigate this and that there will be proper accountability if it’s warranted,” he said. “We’re going to be very eager to see what the IDF investigation finds. As always, we expect that an investigation will be conducted thoroughly and transparently.”
The IDF said, “This is a serious incident that is not in line with IDF values and what is expected of IDF soldiers.”
According to the military, Israeli troops killed four gunmen during the clashes in Qabatiya, after surrounding a building where a wanted Palestinian was holed up.
During the firefight, the IDF said commandos from the Duvdevan unit used a tactic known as “pressure cooker” that involves escalating the volume of fire directed at a building to force a suspect to come out.
Three assault rifles and other weapons were seized from their bodies, the IDF said.
The IDF said that one of those killed in Qabatiya was Shadi Zakarneh, and identified him as “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.
Photos captured by The Associated Press during the raid showed an IDF bulldozer moving near the building where the bodies were dropped.
Warning: Graphic footage
When withdrawing from raids, the army usually leaves behind any Palestinians killed by Israeli fire, though it occasionally brings dead bodies into Israel.
Under international law, soldiers are supposed to ensure dead bodies, including those of enemy combatants, are treated decently.
Since October 7, troops have arrested some 5,000 wanted Palestinians across the West Bank, including more than 2,000 affiliated with Hamas.
According to the Palestinian Authority’s health ministry, more than 670 West Bank Palestinians have been killed in that time. The IDF says the vast majority of them were gunmen killed in exchanges of fire, rioters who clashed with troops or terrorists carrying out attacks.
During the same period, 33 people, including Israeli security personnel, have been killed in terror attacks in Israel and the West Bank. Another six members of the security forces were killed in clashes with terror operatives in the West Bank.
Agencies and The Times of Israel Staff contributed to this report.