Al Jazeera’s investigation reveals exclusive details and testimonies in the crime of sniping by brothers Ramez and Nahed Barbakh (social networking sites)

An Al Jazeera investigation followed an incident in which two Palestinian brothers, a child and a boy, were directly targeted by Israeli army snipers in the Al-Amal neighborhood area, west of Khan Yunis, in the southern Gaza Strip. Despite one of them carrying the white flag, it did not help them, and they were martyred in a horrific and cruel scene, during their attempt to flee. With their family towards a path designated by Israel for the displaced as “safe”.

The investigation is based on exclusive testimonies obtained by Al Jazeera from the family of the two martyrs, in addition to determining the timing and location of the crime, drawing a picture of the event, and determining the location closest to the activity of Israeli army vehicles to the place where the child and boy were targeted, whose photo of them lying on the ground on top of each other received widespread interaction and sympathy.

Last Wednesday morning, the Barbakh family decided to evacuate their home located in the Al-Amal neighborhood, west of Khan Yunis, in response to leaflets dropped by Israeli planes and tweets published by the Israeli army spokesman in which residents in neighborhoods in Khan Yunis, including Al-Amal, called on them to evacuate to the Al-Mawasi area via Al-Bahr Street.

#Urgent 🔴🔴 To the residents of the Khan Yunis area in the neighborhoods of Al-Nasr, Al-Amal, City Center and the camp (the camp) in blocks 107-112: For your safety, you must immediately move to the humanitarian area in Al-Mawasi via Al-Bahr Street pic.twitter.com/K4MtDeKMSR

- Avichay Adraee (@AvichaiAdraee) January 24, 2024

The white flag did not help them

Muhammad Adel Barbakh, the father of the martyrs, Nahed, who is 13 years old, and Ramez, who is 20 years old, says, “When we decided to leave, my son Nahed came out carrying the white flag and was only a few meters away from the house until he was shot in the foot, then he was surprised by bullets in his stomach.” And his neck.”

He added that his other brother, Ramez, tried to save him, and as soon as he reached him, he was shot in the heart and fell on top of his brother, and the white flag did not intercede for them.

The Israeli army spokesman, Avichai Adraee, posted two tweets on the Barbakh, the house and the location of the incident are located in the same block referred to.

Timing and location of targeting

The investigation was able to determine the geographical location of the location where Ramez and Nahed were exposed to Israeli sniper fire. The place is located next to Haroun Al-Rashid School in the Al-Amal neighborhood, an area that is located in “Block 109 on the Israeli map,” according to a geographical location and the family’s testimonies.

According to the family’s testimonies, the timing of targeting the two brothers was set at approximately 10:30 in the morning on January 24, while the photo was taken after their martyrdom, between 1 and 1:30 in the afternoon, according to the direction of the sun and shadow and what was stated in the exclusive testimonies.

The location of the crime committed by the occupation, according to data tracked by Al Jazeera

Ahmed Barbakh, the brother of the two martyrs, narrated the details of his taking the only photo documenting the crime and said, “I photographed my two martyred brothers so that I would not forget them, and in order to document this crime: the murder of a child carrying a white flag and his brother who tried to save him and was also killed.”

The picture of the two brothers after their martyrdom shows traces of blood and the white flag that they were carrying as they moved towards the displacement area in Al-Mawasi, west of Khan Yunis, but they did not accompany their family due to their martyrdom, and the family continued the harsh mission they described trying to protect themselves from sniper fire and cross another road that forced them to break a wall to cross. From side streets and other houses, she continued walking until she reached the coastal road area in Khan Yunis and settled in a tent there.

Nahed (right) and Ramez were killed by Israeli snipers while trying to flee on a route designated by the occupation as “safe” (Al Jazeera)

Israeli army activity

According to satellite images obtained by Al Jazeera, traces of the Israeli army’s military operations were observed in the Al-Katibah area, 400 meters away from the location where the two brothers were targeted, where the images were taken on January 19.

The Israeli vehicles are about 900 meters away from the site of the event.

Satellite images monitored the effects of the Israeli army’s military operations in an area 400 meters away from the site of the targeting of the two brothers (Al Jazeera)

The fate of the two bodies is unknown

Al Jazeera also obtained exclusive testimonies from the family, where the father, mother, and siblings of the two martyrs talked about the details of the crime in detail. They also talked about the impact and difficulty of the crime on them, especially since they lacked any information about the fate of the bodies of the martyrs Nahed and Ramez because they were unable to recover them and they left the area under bombardment and gunfire.

Muhammad Adel Barbakh, the father of the two martyrs, narrates the difficult moments he lived with his family after the sniping of his two sons, and how he resorted to the International Red Cross several times after the incident to find out the fate of their bodies, but he did not reach a conclusion and left them behind, and the grief does not leave his heart.

While the mother of the two martyrs said that she saw her two sons being martyred before her eyes, she tried to leave the house and call an ambulance, hoping that they were still alive, but the intensity of the fire prevented her, and she was also hit in the wrist by a gunshot.

Since last October 7, Israel has been waging a devastating war on the Gaza Strip, leaving to date 26,422 martyrs and 65,87 injured, in addition to massive destruction of infrastructure, residential neighborhoods, and hospitals, and an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe.

Source: Al Jazeera