Israeli forces killed an elderly Palestinian during a raid that used a vehicle disguised as an ambulance
Israel Defense Forces (IDF) troops that killed an elderly civilian during a West Bank raid may have committed a war crime, UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese has told Sky News.
The 80-year-old, Halima Abu Leil, was on a grocery run on December 19 when she was shot six times by IDF troops during “counterterrorism activity” at the Balata refugee camp near Nablus. She died soon afterward.
“When I look at the footage, what emerges prima facie is that there were no precautions taken – within these operations whose legality is debatable – to avoid or spare civilian life. No principle of proportionality because there was wild fire directed at the identified target and ultimately no respect for the principle of distinction,” Albanese told the British outlet on Monday.
“So this was a murder in cold blood, and could be a war crime as an extrajudicial killing,” she added.
Sky News had obtained CCTV footage of the incident and analyzed it to establish what happened. The recording shows that IDF troops also used a vehicle marked as an ambulance, in potential violation of the Geneva Conventions.
A video captures Israeli special forces using an ambulance as cover to infiltrate the Balata camp in Nablus. The footage shows the moment they opened fire, brutally executing 80-year-old Palestinian elder Halima Abu Liel.
Abu Leil’s family told Sky they wanted the video to be seen.
“They could see she is an elderly lady but they shot her six times – in her leg, in her chest,” her daughter told the outlet, pointing out that Halima was on the ground after the first shot.
Sky’s analysis of the video suggests that the IDF could have been targeting a group of Palestinian men that may have been armed. However, they had managed to duck into a building when Halima was shot.
“The IDF is committed to and operates in accordance with international law. The mentioned incident is under review,” the Israeli military told Sky News in a statement. “The review will examine the use of the vehicle shown in the video and the claims of harm to uninvolved individuals during the exchange of fire between the terrorists and our forces.”
Both the use of a marked medical vehicle for a security operation and the killing of Abu Leil could qualify as war crimes.
Israel declared war on Hamas in Gaza after the deadly incursion on October 7, 2023. Parallel to the military offensive against the enclave, Israeli security forces and settlers have killed 813 “mostly unarmed” Palestinians in the West Bank since then, including 15 women and 177 children, according to the UN Office of Human Rights in occupied Palestinian territory.
“Any deliberate killing by Israeli security forces of Palestinians in the Occupied West Bank who do not pose an imminent threat to life is unlawful under international human rights law and a war crime in the context of Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian Territory,” the office told Sky News.
