Probe finds Israeli snipers systematically shot unarmed civilians, with Gaza’s Doghmosh family among victims
Israeli snipers from the US and Germany killed four members of a single Palestinian family in Gaza City in one day, a five-month international investigation has revealed, exposing a broader pattern of Israeli troops targeting unarmed civilians in the enclave.
The probe, published by The Guardian, Arab Reporters for Investigative Journalism (ARIJ), Paper Trail Media, Der Spiegel and German broadcaster ZDF, traced the killings of the Doghmosh family in the Tal al-Hawa neighborhood on Nov. 22, 2023.
Video footage and survivor testimony showed that 19-year-old Salem Doghmosh was shot in the head while trying to recover the body of his brother Mohammed, who had been killed minutes earlier. Their father, Montasser, 51, was also shot dead as he attempted to reach his sons, while another relative, Mohammed Farid, was killed nearby. Two more family members were injured.
In an interview posted online, Israeli sniper Daniel Raab, a former US college basketball player from Illinois, admitted he knew Salem was unarmed but fired anyway.
He described the teenager’s attempt to recover his brother’s body as his “first elimination.” Raab later boasted that his unit had killed more than 100 people during its Gaza deployment.
The investigation also identified Raab’s partner as Daniel Graetz, who grew up in Munich, Germany. Together, the pair were part of a sniper squad calling itself “ghosts,” made up largely of dual nationals.
Photos and videos from their deployment helped investigators geolocate their position to a six-story building about 400 meters away, overlooking Moneer al-Rayyes Street, where the killings took place.
Survivor accounts and medical records confirmed the Doghmosh family deaths, while experts in international law told the investigation team the shootings of unarmed civilians, including people retrieving bodies, constituted a war crime.
Fayza Doghmosh, the mother of Salem and Mohammed, broke down in tears when shown footage of her sons’ final moments.
“Even if I forgive him, God will not,” she said of Raab.
The Israeli army has continued a brutal offensive on the Gaza Strip, killing at least 64,600 Palestinians since October 2023. The military campaign has devastated the enclave, which is facing famine.
Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.
