On Tuesday, 10 June 2025, at around 1:00 A.M., Israeli military, Border Police and Shin Bet (ISA) forces raided the Old City area of Nablus, entered many homes and detained dozens of people for questioning. From the morning hours, residents began leaving the neighborhood to seek safety due to the massive presence of the forces and given recurring incidents of civilian killings during military raids on Palestinian cities and refugee camps. At around 1:00 P.M., paramedics arrived in the neighborhood to help the Qotub family – one of the families seeking to evacuate. Several journalists were documenting the events. When the paramedics reached the edge of the neighborhood, soldiers detained four young men from the family in a nearby alley. The rest of the family left the area, while the paramedics and journalists waited at the entrance to the street.
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Nidal ‘Amirah. Photo courtesy of the family
At that time, Nidal ‘Amirah, 40, and his brother Khaled ‘Amirah, 35, arrived in the neighborhood to help another family that wanted to leave, fearing the operation. Nidal ‘Amirah, an officer in the Palestinian Authority security forces, was off duty and unarmed.
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Khaled ‘Amirah. Photo courtesy of the family
In video footage filmed by journalists from the end of the street, Nidal, who is wearing a white shirt, is seen walking slowly toward a group of soldiers with his empty hands raised. He stops a few meters from them and lifts his shirt at their request. According to testimonies B’Tselem collected from eyewitnesses, at this stage one of the soldiers demanded that ‘Amirah remove his pants as well. He refused. ‘Amirah is then seen taking one step toward the soldiers, at which point three soldiers lunge at him and begin beating him.
At this stage, Khaled ‘Amirah, in a black shirt, tried to approach together with several paramedics standing at the end of the street. In the footage, one soldier is seen aiming his weapon at them. The paramedics step back slightly, while Khaled continues advancing with his arms stretched forward. Six shots are then heard, and at least one bullet can be seen striking the ground near Khaled’s feet. Another bullet hits a wall near the group standing at the end of the street, and one paramedic and a photographer are hit by shrapnel.
At the same time, several soldiers continued beating Nidal, who tried to shield himself and struggled against them. At that stage, other soldiers seized Khaled and dragged him into a nearby alley, where the four detainees from the Qotub family were being held. In the alley, the soldiers tried to force him to the ground while one soldier choked him. Two shots were heard from the alley and soon afterwards, the soldiers dragged Nidal, too, toward its entrance while he struggled against them. At this stage, intense gunfire was heard from inside the alley and a cloud of dust rose from it. The source of the gunfire was outside the cameras’ field of view. The volley of shots injured Nidal and at least one soldier. Nidal, who broke free from the soldiers holding him in the chaos created by the burst of gunfire, is seen in the video limping forward. His path, however, is blocked by at least two soldiers, leaving him with nowhere to flee. A joint forensic analysis of the video by B’Tselem and INDEX shows that at this moment, one of the two soldiers, who was standing just a few meters away, shoots Nidal in the back and Nidal falls to the ground.
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Khaled and Nidal ‘Amirah lying on the ground. Photo: Wahaj Bani Moufleh, ActiveStills
After shooting Nidal, the same soldier is seen approaching the spot where another soldier is pinning Khaled to the ground and executing him with a point-blank shot to the head.
Several Red Crescent paramedics, who were only a short distance away throughout the incident, try to reach the brothers to provide medical care, but the soldiers keep them away at gunpoint. Analysis of the footage indicates that at this point Nidal ‘Amirah was still alive and may have survived, if the soldiers had not denied him medical treatment. Military vehicles then arrived, and additional soldiers dispersed everyone present using live fire and stun grenades.
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The members of the Qotub family detained by soldiers. Photo: Salma a-Deb’i, B’Tselem
After the journalists and paramedics were forced out, soldiers beat the detainees from the Qotub family, pressed rifles to their heads and destroyed their phones. They then handcuffed them, covered their heads and led them into a nearby clothing store. The four were held there until around 5:00 P.M., when they were released one by one. They were taken by ambulance to a hospital in the city, where two of them were diagnosed with rib fractures.
The military raid on the Old City of Nablus lasted about 30 hours, until the following morning. During the operation, the forces entered hundreds of homes and arrested about 10 Palestinians.
The military addressed the killing of the ‘Amirah brothers in a statement: During a suspect inspection, two terrorists attempted to snatch the weapon of one of the fighters operating in the area. As a result, […] several rounds were discharged, causing moderate injury to one IDF soldier and light injuries to three others. The force responded with gunfire toward the terrorists, killing both of them.” However, a forensic reconstruction of the incident by INDEX and eyewitness testimonies collected by B’Tselem indicate that Khaled ‘Amirah was executed with a point-blank shot to the head while pinned to the ground and posing no danger to the soldiers. Nidal ‘Amirah was shot in the back from close range after being wounded in the leg and while at least two soldiers were blocking his escape route, and he, too, posed no threat. The video footage also shows that it was the soldiers who attacked the brothers. Despite the military’s attempt to label them “terrorists” in order to retroactively incriminate them, there is no indication in the footage that the brothers intended to confront the soldiers. In addition, after the brothers had already been shot, the soldiers prevented nearby paramedics from approaching them to assess whether they could offer life-saving treatment.
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A soldier at the entrance to the alley where Khaled ‘Amirah was killed. Photo: Wahaj Bani Moufleh, ActiveStills
B’Tselem field researcher Salma a-Deb’i collected the testimonies:
Mu’tasem Qotub, 24, said in a testimony he gave on 13 June 2025:
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View from the area where the journalists were standing toward the street where the ‘Amirah brothers were killed. Photo: Salma a-Deb’i, B’Tselem
On Tuesday, 10 June 2025, at around 1:00 A.M., the military raided the Old City of Nablus. The next morning, we decided to leave the neighborhood because my father has a heart condition and my little sister was very scared. The situation was terrifying. There was chaos outside. We heard the forces blowing up doors and firing, and we smelled tear gas. We were afraid the raid would last a long time and we’d be trapped there in a very difficult situation.
At around 1:00 P.M., several paramedics came to our house to help us get out. I left the house with my father Ayman, 51, my mother Samah, 42, and my siblings Baraa, 22, Yasmin, 19, the twins Muhammad and Ahmad, 17, and Rital, 2. My sister’s fiancé ‘Issam, 26, who was with us at home during the raid and couldn’t get back to his own home, also came with us. I took with me a small bag with 1,400 shekels (~420 USD) and my phone, ID card, credit card and checkbook.
There were about 15 people in the street, journalists and paramedics. We walked in the middle, between them, and went about 150 meters. Near the entrance to the Tulkarm parking lot, one of the soldiers signaled to Baraa, ‘Issam, Muhammad, and me to come over. There were six or seven soldiers there, and they ordered us to stand facing the wall. They took our ID cards and my bag and ran a body search on us. Then they ordered us to kneel facing the wall with our hands up.
I heard the soldiers at the entrance to the parking lot talking with someone who was on the street of the Jarwan entrance into the Old City. A soldier ordered him to lift his shirt and then told him to pull down his pants. I heard the man refuse to pull down his pants, and then the soldier went towards him from our direction, attacked him and tried to knock him down. Other soldiers joined in. I noticed several soldiers coming out of a house in the alley behind us. Then I heard gunshots.
After that, I saw the soldiers grab another young man dressed in black and try to tie him. They brought him into the alley we were in and tried to force him to the ground. One of the soldiers grabbed his head and choked him hard. Meanwhile, I heard heavy gunfire, several shots one after another. I didn’t understand what was happening. There was dust in the air from the force of the shooting. The soldiers shouted at me and at my brothers not to move. My brother Muhammad, 16, tried to get up because he was scared, and the soldier yelled at him. I told him to sit where he was and not move. I thought the soldiers were going to kill him anyway.
Then I saw the young man in the black clothes lying face down on the ground, with one of the soldiers pinning his head to the ground. Another soldier pulled out a handgun and fired several bullets at him.
After that, I saw the soldiers dragging an injured soldier from the direction of the Jarwan entrance and taking him into the house where the soldiers were, in the same alley.
One of the soldiers came closer to me and pressed the rifle barrel to the back of my head. I quickly recited the shahadatein [verses recited before death] because I assumed he was going to shoot me. In the end, he pushed the rifle so my head banged against the wall. They pressed rifles to the heads of my brothers, Baraa and Muhammad, too. After that, the soldiers searched us. They ordered us to stand with our hands up, took our phones and threw them on the ground. Then, they tied our hands behind our backs and blindfolded us with shirts. They led us into a clothing shop and pushed us inside. I fell down, and the same happened to my brothers and to ‘Issam, my sister’s fiancé. They hit us, beat us with their guns and kicked us. I knew the soldiers were beating the others, too, because I heard them shouting in pain. The soldiers shouted at us, cursed us in Arabic, and said humiliating things about the women in our family. That went on for about half an hour. After that, they separated us from one another and made us kneel. Every time one of them came into the shop, he would kick or shove us with his foot or a gun.
It was very painful to kneel for so long, but every time I moved, the soldiers shouted at me. They tightened the cuffs on my wrists about three times. When I told a soldier my legs hurt, he took off my shoes, hit me on the head with them, and trod on my feet. I told the soldier I needed to go to the bathroom, but he didn’t care; they only let me go after about half an hour. The soldier led me to the bathroom on the second floor of the shop without letting me put my shoes back on, and pushed me against the walls so I banged against them. When I reached the bathroom, he removed the handcuffs and took the shirt off my face and left the bathroom door open. All I wanted was a little break from the kneeling and the handcuffs.
At around 5:00 P.M., they let us go one by one, at one-minute intervals. The soldier told me: “Go straight to the roundabout.” I asked for my shoes and for the bag with my things, but he refused to give them back. I asked for my phone, and he said I wasn’t allowed to have it. I insisted I wanted my phone, and he asked me if I wanted to die for a phone.
We met at the intersection and were taken by ambulance to Rafidya Hospital, where it turned out Baraa and Muhammad had fractured ribs.
At around 7:00 A.M., I went to check on our home. It was okay, thank God, because the soldiers didn’t reach it.
Muhammad Sayeh, 39, one of the photographers in the alley, said in a testimony he gave on 12 June 2025:
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View from the spot where the ‘Amirah brothers were killed toward the end of the street, where the journalists were standing. Photo: Salma a-Deb’i, B’Tselem
While we were escorting the Qotub family out of the neighborhood, about 10 soldiers suddenly surprised us and blocked our way. They detained four young men from the family and led them into an alley about 20 meters away from us, where we could no longer see them. The soldiers told us we weren’t allowed to film and ordered us to turn off our cameras and phones. We escorted the rest of the family out of the neighborhood, and they were evacuated by ambulance.
A few minutes later, two brothers arrived at the spot where we were, at the Jarwan entrance to the Old City. They said there was another family they wanted to help leave the neighborhood. One of them, who was wearing a white shirt, walked towards the Jarwan entrance with his hands up to show he wasn’t holding anything. When he was a few meters away from the soldiers, they signaled for him to stop.
I saw the man lift his shirt, and then the soldiers started beating him. At that point, his brother started moving toward them. The soldiers fired three or four shots in the direction of the brother, who was dressed in black, and I backed away to avoid being hit. When I went back and looked at the street, I didn’t see the brother in black anymore, but I did see soldiers moving in the alley to the left of where the soldiers were positioned. I assumed the soldiers had taken him in there. There was shouting going on there, and I didn’t understand what was happening. At the same time, I saw about six or seven soldiers beating the man in the white shirt. One soldier twisted his arms behind his back and held them. The soldiers beat him and he tried to push them away with his legs. They hit him with their weapons and tried to overpower him and drag him into the alley.
Suddenly, I heard a burst of gunfire. After that, I saw the brother in the white shirt running away from the soldiers, moving away from the source of fire. Then I heard another round of six or seven shots, and I saw him collapse on the ground. I shouted: “They killed him.”
After that, a soldier fired a shot in my direction. It hit the wall next to me, and I was wounded in the hand by a small piece of shrapnel. A paramedic offered me first aid, but I said no. Then more soldiers arrived from the direction of Ghurnatah Street. They threw stun grenades toward us to push us back, and fired live rounds. During that time, they apparently evacuated the wounded soldiers, one of whom I had seen earlier lying on the ground, as well as the two brothers.
Hamzah Abu Hajar, 29, one of the paramedics who was escorting the Qotub family, said in his testimony:
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Hamzah Abu Hajar. Photo courtesy of Hamzah Abu Hajar
While we were walking through the street with the Qotub family, we were surprised to see a military force at the entrance to the Tulkarm parking lot. They signaled for us to stop and ordered us not to film. After that, we continued walking. After we’d gone a few meters, I paused to make sure all the family members were passing safely, but then one of the soldiers made me go back. Then he signaled to one of the young men from the family to come over, and then to three more. He detained all four of them. When I tried to pull one of them with me so he wouldn’t be arrested, the soldier pointed his weapon at me, so I stepped back and raised my hands. Their mother tried to approach them, but I told her not to worry and to keep moving. We went out to the edge of the neighborhood and arranged for an ambulance to drive the family to relatives, since there was no public transportation at all in the city, due to the raid.
A few minutes later, I saw a young man in a white shirt and red cap trying to enter the neighborhood. I advised him not to go in, but he went in and walked up the street anyway. I saw the soldiers order him to lift his shirt, which he did. Then they told him to pull down his pants, but he refused. Then a soldier hit him and tried to grab him, together with some other soldiers.
At that moment, another young man dressed in black began advancing toward them. Later, I was told he was the first man’s brother. Suddenly, I heard several gunshots. One bullet hit the wall next to me, and some shrapnel injured the paramedic Hassan ‘Ayad. I immediately hid behind the corner of a wall. From there, I saw the soldiers trying to drag the man in the white shirt into the Tulkarm parking lot entrance. I couldn’t see the man in black anymore. Suddenly, I heard heavy gunfire, maybe 15 rounds, coming from the entrance to the parking lot. A cloud of dust rose from the alley. I saw the man in the white shirt moving away from the entrance to the parking lot, hopping on one leg. He must have been wounded by the gunfire there. Then, the soldiers shot him.
About five minutes later, the soldiers fired several shots in our direction, and we were forced to leave. Soldiers who arrived in jeeps from the direction of Ghurnatah Street also fired live shots and tear-gas canisters to drive the residents away.
