• During an IDF raid on the town of Qabatiya, in Jenin, on September 19, Israeli soldiers besieged the house of the Zakarneh (Zakarna) family (the Lubani building), and attacked it with Energa anti-tank rifle grenades before summarily executing five Palestinians, after at least four of them were cornered on the roof.

• The soldiers proceeded to kick the bodies off the roof of the Lubani building one by one to the street below. Once the bodies were on the ground, soldiers brought an excavator and mutilated the bodies. Once desecrated by the excavators' arm, the IDF soldiers placed the desecrated bodies in an earth-moving loader. The IDF then drove around town and paraded the desecrated bodies across the streets of Qabatiya.

• The besieged house was burned by Israeli soldiers and their demolition engine destroyed partially the house. As soon as the Israeli soldiers withdrew, hundreds of young men in the town headed towards the house that had been under siege for 12 hours. They began extinguishing the fires and searching for the body of a martyr, which they found burned beyond recognition. Palestinian Red Crescent identified him as Shadi Sami Zakarneh.

• According to a Sky News OSINT journalist Olive Enokido-Lineham, footage confirms IDF soldiers killed and threw four bodies off the roof. Source

• During this military attack, the Israeli forces killed seven Palestinians, injured around 15 others, destroyed and damaged Palestinian public and private properties, levelled over 300 meters of paved streets, as well as the Martyrs roundabout at the northern entrance of the town, and besieged students and teachers in a school and a number of employees in their places of employment

• Under international law, soldiers must ensure that bodies, including those of enemy combatants, are treated properly.

Casualties

7 people were killed. 8 injured, 2 in critical condition.

Names of the martyrs:

1. Shadi Zakarneh, 36 (killed inside de first floor of the Lubani building)

2. Ahmad Abed Al-Hameed Lubani, 27 (killed on the rooftop of the Lubani building)

3. Fadi Jawdat Hanaysha, 28 (killed on the rooftop of the Lubani building)

4. Muhammad Khaled Abu al-Rub, 24 (killed on the rooftop of the Lubani building)

5. Omar Abu al-Rub, 25 (killed on the rooftop of the Lubani building)

6. Muhammad Omar Kamil Abu Khamira

7. Mustafa Faisal Zakarneh, 23 (killed when an Israeli drone missile struck his vehicle in the street near the Lubani building)

2 other members of the Zakarna/Zakarneh family were arrested :

Mohammed Zakarna/Zakarneh and Qasim. Source

First statements

• In a post on X, the Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs described the act as a “crime” that exposes the Israeli army’s “brutality”.

• Mustafa Barghouti, the secretary-general of the Palestinian National Initiative, told Al Jazeera that the footage had shown “absolutely savage and inhuman behaviour”."Not only [had] they shot these people and let them bleed to death, they beat them with their boots, they humiliated their bodies, they mutilated their bodies, and then they threw them from the rooftop to the ground."

“I don't know if they checked they were still alive or not when they did that, but this is such a savage behaviour and you cannot say that this is part of the war because there is no war in the West Bank. There is war from one side, military actions from one side, on a civilian population. The West Bank does not have an army, does not have even a resistance force like Hamas that is fighting Israelis, no. They have some gunmen here and there. They don't represent an army. What you see here is a grave violation of international law and Human rights first of all by this kind of use of military force against civilian population. Second by this terrible behaviour in such a town like Qabatiya today where they besieged no less than 18 children in a kindergarten. Up till this moment, they are besieged with their teachers. They cannot go home since the morning. They are besieging workers of the municipality and they are besieging journalists who don't know what to do because if they try to get out of the places they are in, they will be shot. It’s absolute savage behaviour by this Israeli army that feels absolutely unaccountable to anything; unaccountable to law; unaccountable to human rights; and unaccountable to international law. They just do whatever they want not only in Qabatiya as they did today but everywhere in the West Bank every day we hear of new crimes that they are committing.”

• Gaza chief of communications at the Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor, an NGO that advocated for human rights, Muhammad Shehada, wrote: "But... but Hamas threw people off rooftops' has been one of Israel's main talking points to justify slaughtering Gazans for decades. Here, the [Israeli army], in broad daylight, throwing a Palestinian off a rooftop after they shot him today."

• US National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said if the footage is corroborated “it clearly would depict abhorrent and egregious behaviour by professional soldiers (...) We reached out immediately to our Israeli counterparts about it, and we pressed them for more details. They have assured us that they’re going to investigate this and that there will be proper accountability if it’s warranted (...) We’re going to be very eager to see what the [Israeli army] investigation finds and, as always, we expect that investigation be done thoroughly and transparently.” https://aje.io/px2nij?update=3191783

Al Haq investigation:

see source

At approximately 10:30 a.m. on Thursday, 19 September 2024, an Israeli special forces unit infiltrated the Jabal Zakarneh area, north of the main road running through Qabatiya, using several civilian vehicles with Palestinian license plates, and moved toward the Lubani family building. Upon arrival, the Israeli occupation forces (IOF) encircled the building, raided several nearby homes and buildings, detained all individuals inside, and confiscated their mobile phones. A tight military cordon was then imposed around the area, with the only opening to the south, where the Martyr Izzat Abu Al-Rub Secondary School for boys is located. As a result, approximately 450 students and staff were trapped inside the school for more than five hours.

The Lubani family building is a two-storey structure, with two housing units on each floor, housing a total of around 19 residents. At the time of the attack, five Palestinians were inside the first floor: Ahmad Abed Al-Hameed Lubani (27), Fadi Jawdat Hanaysha (28), Mohammed Khaled Abu Al-Rub (24), his cousin Omar Hamza Abu Al-Rub (25), and Shadi Sami Zakarneh (36). The IOF opened fire on the building with live ammunition and various projectiles, and then shouted orders demanding that the five men surrender.

When they refused to turn themselves in, an exchange of fire was heard. Four of the men — Ahmad Lubani, Fadi Hanaysha, and cousins Omar and Mohammed Abu Al-Rub — climbed a wooden ladder to the rooftop, while Shadi Zakarneh remained on the first floor. As soon as the four men reached the roof, they were fully exposed to Israeli forces, who immediately opened heavy fire. They were subjected to sustained gunfire, additional projectiles, and an airstrike by an Israeli drone, which left a missile crater on the western side of the rooftop.

During the attack on the roof, Ahmad Lubani was shot, causing him to fall off the rooftop onto corrugated metal roofing sheets (“Zinco boards”). The other three men remained lying on the rooftop. According to the account, although they were in a state of complete incapacitation, the IOF continued firing at the three injured men, while also preventing ambulances and paramedics from accessing the area, thereby denying them any medical treatment or chance of survival.

Meanwhile, inside the building, Shadi Sami Zakarneh remained positioned in a room on the first floor. The IOF continued firing repeatedly at the building. Almost three hours after the siege began, Israeli forces reportedly identified Shadi’s exact location. This was followed by the sound of gunfire, an explosion, and rising smoke, after which fire broke out in the apartment where he was located. Several hours later, civil defence teams were able to extinguish the fire and discovered a burnt body believed to be Shadi’s.

As Israeli military bulldozers approached the eastern side of the building, soldiers managed to reach the rooftop, where they reportedly fired live ammunition at the bodies of the Palestinian men, who had already been lying dead for hours. One bulldozer began a partial demolition of the eastern first-floor apartment. It then attempted to reach the bodies of the four killed Palestinians on the rooftop using its long arm, assisted by soldiers on the roof. The soldiers then threw the bodies off the roof from an estimated height of 12 to 14 meters, reportedly using their feet to push the bodies over the edge. This scene was captured on video by several nearby residents. Afterwards, the bulldozer used its shovel to move the bodies, which, according to the report, remain withheld by the Israeli authorities to this day.

During the same attack, Mustafa Faisal Zakarneh (23) was driving near the Lubani building. He reportedly exited his vehicle and fired toward the positions of several Israeli military jeeps, then re-entered the vehicle and drove away. As he reached a side street, an Israeli drone launched at least one missile at the vehicle, killing him immediately. The car caught fire, but bystanders were able to recover his body and transport it to a medical centre, where he was pronounced dead.

IDF investigation and absence of prosecution

The Israeli military has acknowledged that its soldiers threw the bodies of Palestinian resistance fighters from the roof of a building in Qabatiya, in the Jenin Governorate of the occupied West Bank. Following the incident, the military conducted an internal investigation, which concluded that there was “no moral defect” in the soldiers’ actions. At the same time, the investigation described the act of throwing the bodies from the roof as a “bad incident”, and admitted that a different solution should have been considered. A spokesperson for the Israeli military referred to the event as a “serious incident” and stated that it would be thoroughly investigated. According to the Israeli news outlet i24news, the military had received orders from the Shin Bet to take the bodies of the Palestinians with them.

The investigation further claimed that there was no access road for a crane that could have been used to transfer the bodies from the rooftop. It added that the company commander informed the unit commander that retrieving the bodies was impossible because of the terrain, the inability to use stretchers, and the fact that combat was still ongoing in the area.

The report also notes that investigations conducted by the Israeli military into violations committed by its soldiers in this incident have consistently failed to result in convictions or punishment for those involved.

September 19 events :

Raid and Deaths: Israeli occupation forces raided the town of Qabatiya, south of Jenin, killing at least three Palestinians. The forces besieged a house, bombarding it with missiles, and later demolished it with bulldozers. The bodies of the three Palestinians were taken to the roof of the house before its demolition.

Military Clashes: Armed clashes erupted between Israeli forces and the besieged men as military reinforcements and bulldozers were brought into the town.

Obstruction of medical care: Israeli forces blocked Red Crescent teams from reaching the besieged house, and detonated a bomb nearby. One injured man was evacuated by ambulance.

Journalists Targeted: Soldiers aimed their rifles at journalists and shot tear gas canisters at Al Jazeera team (Nida Ibrahim) covering the raid. see event

Schools Besieged: Israeli forces surrounded two schools (near another besieged building) trapping nearly 450 students inside, while eight other schools were evacuated. Many students suffered from tear gas inhalation. see event

Child injured in a bank The Red Crescent has rescued a child who was hit and injured by an Israeli live bullet in the waist area

Extrajudicail execution : Mustafa Zakarna was killed in an Israeli drone strike on his vehicle.

Infrastructure Damage: Israeli bulldozers destroyed roads and a police station during the raid.