By Daniel Laufer,Frederik Obermaier,Hoda Osman,Maria Christoph,Maria Retter,Susanne Amann

Copyright spiegel

The four men were from the Doghmosh clan. In the mid-2000s, a member of the clan was involved in the kidnapping of an Israeli soldier, and he also became a founder of the Salafist-jihadist terror organization “Army of Islam.”

According to media reports, however, the family had repeated conflicts with Hamas, including violent altercations. Last year, Hamas executed the leader of the Doghmosh clan, accusing him of having negotiated with Israeli officials.

Eyewitnesses agree that the men did not present any danger to the soldiers. The Israeli military declined to comment when contacted.

Information regarding the times of death and the names are consistent with entries in the death register kept by the Health Ministry in Gaza, which is under Hamas control. The Palestinian portal Shireen noted – without identifying its source – a different place of death for Mohammed Montasser Doghmosh and his brother Salem. But the death certificates in possession of DER SPIEGEL and its partners indicate Gaza City as the place of death.

In order to further substantiate the claims made by those involved and by family members, witness statements were compared with each other and with the photographic material available. Among the most important questions were:

What were the people wearing in the video? Where on their bodies were Mohammed Montasser Doghmosh and Salem Montasser Doghmosh struck by bullets?Are there any contradictions?

The statements from “Sergeant D.” were also compared to descriptions supplied by family members to identify similarities and any possible inconsistencies.

According to witnesses, the first man allegedly shot by Daniel G. on November 22, 2023, was Mohammed Farid Doghmosh. Three family members are certain they could identify him in a thermal image of a shooting that “Sergeant D.” attributes to his partner. Two eyewitnesses, however, have slightly different versions of the killing.

Furthermore, the quality of the clip is too poor to conclusively identify the location of this killing. The two men can be seen, to be sure, but not their faces. Their heads and arms are completely black – a phenomenon known as “black hot” among thermal imaging experts. Uncovered skin gives off more heat, and this heat is depicted in dark colors.

What can be seen is that one of the people is wearing a head covering that looks like a turban – such as the one that Mohammed Farid frequently wore. His family showed pictures in which he was wearing a similar head covering.

According to his wife, he worked for the civil defense. In his death certificate, issued by the Palestinian Interior Ministry, his cause of death is listed as: “operations of war – targeted by occupation forces.”

A cousin of Mohammed Farid Doghmosh, who asked that his name not be published out of security concerns, said that he is the second man seen in the video. He ran away when the shot was fired.

Daniel G. of Munich is also thought to have shot and killed another man on November 22, 2023. That victim was likely Mohammed Montasser, 25. Three family members claimed they could recognize him on an additional thermal image – which, according to “Sergeant D.”, shows a shot fired by his partner. The video shows a man apparently being struck by a projectile and collapsing to the ground, after which another person runs away.

DER SPIEGEL met with the man who claims to be the person seen running away from the scene in the video, saying he is able to recognize himself from his movements. He says he was a friend of Mohammed Montasser Doghmosh – his name is known to DER SPIEGEL. He also asked to remain anonymous out of security concerns.

The thermal images show a person apparently being struck in the torso. Montasser Doghmosh’s companion insists, however, that his friend was struck by a bullet “above his left eye.” Montasser’s mother says that her son’s face had been covered in blood.

On the thermal image of the apparent killing, a dark stripe can be seen, with experts saying the stripe is a projectile or, more accurately, the heat of a projectile.