Entwined in death: Two brothers shot dead in Gaza while evacuating with white flag

More families in Gaza are coming forward about how their relatives were killed while carrying white flags, ITV News' Senior International Correspondent John Irvine reports


Fifteen year-old Nahed Barbakh had been waving a white flag in Gaza when he was shot dead last week.

His brother Ramez, 20, rushed to his aid, before he too was shot dead.

All of this was witnessed by their nine-year-old sister who was only able to watch on in horror.

Today, their grieving family spoke to ITV News.

Describing what she witnessed, sister Rimas Barbakh said: "They fired and hit him in the leg and he fell. My father kept telling him to crawl back towards us.

"Then he was hit in his neck and back. He was bleeding. My brother Ramez wanted to go to him.

"My father grabbed him by the jacket but he got free and ran towards Nahed.

"Ramez tried to pull him, but then he too was hit, in his heart, and fell on his brother. He looked at us with a smile and then passed away."

She added that she can't sleep because she cries her "eyes out" every time she thinks of her brothers.

"My parents are so sad and I'm so sad for them," she added.

Their father, Mohammad Barbakh said: "They used loudspeakers to tell us to evacuate, when we did they killed my sons before my very eyes."


Nine-year-old Rimas watched in horror as both her brothers were shot dead while waving a white flag

The last image of the pair together paints a tragic scene, one of two young brothers entwined in death.

Their deaths come days after cameraman Mohammed Abu Safia, who was filming for ITV News, captured the killing of Ramzi Abu Sahloul.

Like the boys, Sahloul was also holding a white flag as he was trying to cross battle lines to rescue relatives.

A senior commander in the Israel Defence Force (IDF) strongly implied that Israeli forces were responsible for the attack.

The incident caused international outrage and was slammed as a war crime.

Sara pictured with her mother Hala Khreis. Credit: Provided

Back in November, a 57-year-old grandmother was killed in similar circumstances while trying to lead a group of people to safety in Gaza.

Hala Khreis was holding the hand of her toddler grandson who was waving a white flag when suddenly she was shot dead. It is unclear who shot her.

Her 18-year-old daughter Sara was further back in the group, and says she has no idea what happened.

Her mother was a retired Arabic teacher loved by her students and her family.

“My mother was going to be 58 on December 30,” she said.

Each of the families asked the same questions when speaking with ITV News about the killing of their loved ones.

"Why them?"


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