Israeli soldiers pushed three apparently lifeless bodies from roofs during a West Bank raid

Israeli soldiers push bodies off rooftops in the West Bank, sparking outrage and calls for investigation into excessive force.

Israeli soldiers pushed three apparently lifeless bodies from rooftops during a raid in the northern part of the occupied West Bank on Thursday (September 19, 2024), according to an Associated Press journalist at the scene and video obtained by AP.

An AP journalist in the town of Qabatiya witnessed three soldiers push the bodies off the roofs of adjacent multi-story buildings, sending them falling out of view. It was the latest in a series of suspected violations by Israeli forces since the start of the Israel-Hamas war that rights groups say show a pattern of excessive force toward Palestinians.

“This is a serious incident that does not coincide with IDF values ​​and the expectations from IDF soldiers," the military said in a statement, using the acronym it goes by. "The incident is under review.”

Israel said its troops had killed four militants during operations in Qabatiya on Thursday.

The Palestinian Health Ministry in Ramallah did not immediately confirm multiple deaths, but said one person had been killed in the town and that Israeli gunfire sent 10 Palestinians to the hospital.

In the video obtained by AP, three soldiers can be seen picking up what appears to be a stiff body and then dragging it toward the edge of a roof as troops stand on the ground below. The soldiers on the roof peer over the edge before heaving the body off.

On an adjacent rooftop, the soldiers hold another apparently lifeless body by its limbs and swing it over the edge. In a third instance, a soldier kicks a body toward the edge before it falls from view. Photos captured by AP during Thursday’s raid show an Israeli army bulldozer moving near the buildings where the bodies were dropped.