'White flag' Palestinian shot dead by 'Israeli sniper' during live UK ITV interview

A group of Palestinian men in Gaza waving a white flag were being interviewed live on ITV News, a UK broadcaster, about their evacuation to the border city of Rafah when minutes later, one was shot dead by a suspected Israel sniper.  

Ramzi Abu Sahloul was among a group of five men who told the broadcaster that there were no safe places in Gaza, as he attempted to take his mother and brother from Khan Younis - currently under siege by the Israeli military - to the Egyptian border.

Abu Sahloul was later seen on live television being shot through the chest, leading to his instant death. 

The 51-year-old Palestinian was a husband and father who sold children's clothing for a living. 

The Israeli military has denied any cases of "field executions", although similar horrific scenes have been caught on camera. 

"It is imperative to emphasise that the alarming, libelous and a gross mischaracterisation of the war with these despicable accusations can only be deemed as an extension of Hamas' propaganda effort to defame [Israeli forces] and ensure the terrorist entity never again holds the power to build a terrorist army, invade Israel, murder, burn, rape and abduct Israelis," the statement read. 

Well said @StephenFlynnSNP https://t.co/GFR6VtTLnE

— Taj Ali (@Taj_Ali1) January 24, 2024

ITV viewers have called the killing of Abu Sahloul another example of alleged Israeli war crimes. 

"Tonight's sickening @itvnews report should be the norm but it's not," journalist Nadim Baba wrote on X, formerly Twitter. 

"It showed, as @johnirvineitv says, 'yet another Palestinian civilian killed while posing no threat whatsoever', shot dead while walking slowly with a white flag. There are many such incidents on SM, not on TV."

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has faced fresh calls to push Israel for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, following the ITV report. 

SNP politician Stephen Flynn challenged Sunak during Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday about the situation in Gaza, where at least 25,000 people have died. 

"The public were sat at home watching John Irvine of ITV News report on footage from Gaza of an unarmed Palestinian man walking under a white flag," Flynn said.  

"He was shot and killed by [Israeli forces]. Prime Minister, such constitutes a war crime."

Sunak responded by saying "international humanitarian law should be respected" and called for an “immediate and sustained humanitarian pause" to the war on Gaza, but stopped short of demanding a ceasefire.

Israel launched its assault on Gaza on 7 October after Hamas conducted a surprise attack in southern Israel that killed 1,200 people and captured around 250 hostages, according to Israeli figures.  

In addition to tens of thousands killed, the assault that has turned much of Gaza into an uninhabitable wasteland.