Shocking video shows two unarmed Palestinian men shot dead by Israeli troops

Two unarmed Palestinian men were shot dead and buried by Israeli soldiers as they attempted to return to their homes in northern Gaza, new video footage shows.

In footage obtained and published on Wednesday by Al Jazeera Arabic, two men holding what appears to be white cloth can be seen walking separately along the beach near the Nabulsi roundabout, southwest of Gaza City, before they are shot dead in two attacks by Israeli troops.

The findings come just a week after a separate video was published by Al Jazeera Arabic showing a group of unarmed young men in Khan Younis in south Gaza hit and killed by an Israeli drone strike, which triggered widespread outrage.

In the video, shot from above and looking down on the strewn beach landscape, one of the men can be seen waving what appears to be a white cloth, as he comes into the view of the Israeli troops.

Positioned approximately 20 meters behind, the second man turns around upon noticing the military presence, also waving his hands in the air and seemingly holding a white cloth

An Israeli armoured vehicle then pursues the man as he walks away some distance ahead. The soldiers in the vehicle open fire and he falls to the ground.

Subsequently, a bulldozer enters the camera's view, scooping up the bodies, including the first man's. It carelessly pushes them into sand and piles of rubbish, observed by several nearby soldiers

Nearby, a group of Palestinians with a donkey and cart witnesses the atrocity.

مشاهد حصرية للجزيرة لإعدام جنود إسرائيليين مدنيين فلسطينيين أثناء محاولتهم العودة لشمال قطاع غزة#الأخبار #حرب_غزة pic.twitter.com/QER98mv2n6

— قناة الجزيرة (@AJArabic) March 27, 2024

Ramy Abdu, chair of Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor, a Geneva-based human rights organization, described the footage as "shocking" in a post on social media site X.

"Shocking footage aired by Al Jazeera shows the execution of two Palestinian civilians as they attempted to return to northern Gaza. The footage depict Israeli soldiers burying the civilians after killing them," Abdu wrote.

The revelations come just a few days after the UN Security Council voted to implement an immediate ceasefire in Gaza as global concerns grow over the devastating humanitarian conditions in the besieged enclave, where more than 32,000 people have been killed.

Israel has repeatedly defended itself against accusations of genocidal intent in its offensive in Gaza after challenges at the World Court, although a UN rights expert declared earlier this week that there were "reasonable grounds" to determine that Israel had committed several acts of "genocide" in Gaza.