Two British Army soldiers have been dismissed after sharing graphic Hamas helmet-cam footage of dead bodies after the Oct 7 2023 attacks on Israel.
The signallers Zakariya Munir and Mohammed Salah shared clips of corpses being kicked and montages of “dead civilians lying in pools of blood”, a court martial heard.
The pair also shared a video of an Islamic State execution. Both have now been dismissed from the Army.
The court martial was told Munir found the videos and sent them to Salah. The soldiers exchanged messages about the content, with Munir telling Salah that they would not be shown in the media. Salah, a father of one, then sent them to other service personnel.
Munir was charged with four counts of sending offensive messages on a public network. Salah was charged with three counts of the same at Bulford Military Court, in Wiltshire.
Both soldiers, from the 10th Signal Regiment, denied the offences but were convicted by court martial.
Mohammed Salah hides his face from cameras outside the court – Solent News & Photo Agency
Munir and Salah had served in the Armed Forces since 2021 and 2019 respectively.
Lieutenant Colonel Felicity Bryson, prosecuting, said the videos “depicted real scenes of brutality during the October Hamas attacks”.
She said: “On Oct 8, Sig Munir said he had a video of the attack and that they won’t be shown in the media.
“The video was taken from a head-cam from the perspective of an irregular fighter. They show faces and bodies of corpses being searched and being kicked by the cameraman.
“Sig Munir asked whether he wanted to see another one, saying it was a bit graphic, though. He asked whether he was on Telegram, saying it was all on there.
“Sig Munir sent a video showing montages of soldiers in barracks interspersed with dead civilians lying in pools of blood. He later sent a video of a group of young men shoving and urinating on elderly men who had their heads bagged and hands tied.”
‘Susceptible to peer pressure’
Fiona Edington, defending Munir, said: “He is a young and naive soldier who has become susceptible to peer pressure. His colonel said he is a developing soldier who made a mistake and is showing clear signs of learning. He has a lot to offer to the British Army.”
James Hay, defending Salah, said the soldier suffered from extreme anxiety. “His arrest led to instances of vomiting and hyperventilating,” he added.
Judge Advocate General Alan Large dismissed both soldiers, saying: “You sent messages to each other about the Oct 7 attacks. There is nothing sinister about that.
“However, you then contacted him with videos, saying, ‘You won’t see this in the media’. This all happened in the context of events that were globally important. You sent these grossly offensive videos in the immediate aftermath of these events.
“The videos showed bodies that had been violated, and it is highly likely that they were taken by those who had committed murder and war crimes. The last video actually showed people being murdered.
“You were both serving members of the British Army, and when you sign up for that there are certain values that you must adhere to.”
