Video footage showing the moment a tank opened fire on a car in northern Gaza has emerged – amid fears a family were killed.
Yousaf Al Saifi, the Gaza-based journalist who captured the video, has told Sky News he later saw the tank fire on a “bus full of families”.
It comes after Israel’s military confirmed over the weekend that its tanks had entered northern Gaza as part of its response to Hamas’s surprise attack on 7 October.
In Mr Al Saifi’s footage, a car can be seen driving down a quiet section of the Salah Al Din road, the main highway in Gaza which spans the entire length of the territory, before it encounters the tank at Netzarim junction.
The driver then appears to spot the tank before turning his vehicle in the road to drive away.
However, after the driver has turned around, the tank opens fire and strikes the car with a shell.
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The car is seen approaching the tank which is partially hidden by a building
The car begins to pull away
‘I saw a family in the car… they died’
A bright flash of flames is seen coming from the tank as it opens fire before the car disappears in a huge cloud of smoke.
Mr Al Saifi had spotted the tank in the road before it was approached by the car and had urged drivers moving in that direction not to continue.
“Some people took notice and others didn’t,” he says.
“The car that was moving forward didn’t realise there was a tank there.
“He kept moving forward quickly and realised there was a tank in front of him.
“They fired on him. The driver tried turning back, he had a family with him. I saw the family in the car.
“They struck [the car] with a shell and they died. We saw it with our own eyes.”
A burst of flames emerges from the tank after it opens fire
A grey cloud of smoke was seen in the road after the shell appeared to hit the car
‘It took out everyone on the bus’
Mr Al Saifi says he then drove away before he saw a “bus full of families”.
He said that as the bus approached the tank it fired another shell.
He added: “It took out everyone on the bus. At this point, I felt how dangerous the situation was and turned around.”
The journalist said he was able to leave the scene by driving on the wrong side of the road before warning more drivers not to travel in that direction.
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Meanwhile, Palestinian sources in Gaza told Sky News the besieged strip has been divided and you can no longer travel from the north to the south on the main Salah Al Din road.
Gaza journalist Samy Zyara said he had seen Israeli tanks and bulldozers at the Netzarim junction where Mr Al Saifi filmed his video.
He said the tanks “shelled two cars which didn’t see the tank there”.
“Three people were killed and many injured,” Mr Zyara added.
Sky News has contacted the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) for comment in relation to the video.
It comes as Israel’s chief military spokesperson confirmed the IDF’s operations in Gaza “will escalate”.
Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said Israeli troops are deployed along the northern border of the territory and “prepared for any scenario”.
The IDF also says its troops have freed an Israeli soldier who was being held hostage by Hamas.