Killing of Mohammad Bhar

Mohammad Bhar (محمد بهار; 2000 – July 2024) was a 24-year-old Palestinian man with Down syndrome and autism who died after being mauled by an Israeli military dog according to his family. The incident occurred during a raid on the family's house in the Gaza Strip during the Second Battle of Shuja'iyya in the Israel-Hamas war.

Mohammad Bhar was a Palestinian born in the Gaza Strip in 2000. He had Down syndrome and autism, and was deeply attached to his mother, who was widowed in 2002, when her husband was killed by Israeli forces. Since the Israel-Hamas war erupted in late 2023, the Bhar family said they had been displaced at least six times and that they had to evacuate 15 times to escape the bombing.

On 3 July 2024, the family said that a week after they had been trapped in a relative's home, Israeli forces raided the place with a combat dog, which proceeded to maul Mohammad's arm and chest. Mohammad, who had speech difficulties, started screaming and pleading at the dog to stop, according to the family. The family described how Israeli forces then separated Mohammad from them to another room, where a military doctor arrived. They added that the Israeli forces later led them out of the house at gunpoint and forced to leave towards the west. When the family returned to the house a week later, when they found Mohammad's bloodied, decaying body on the floor with worms starting to eat his face. A tourniquet was found on his arm.

Mohammad's killing provoked outrage on social media websites, with his family demanding an investigation into the incident. Israel said that its troops left Bhar in the house alone because there were other soldiers injured that needed their help. The BBC, which reported on the incident, was criticized for a headline that was considered as obscuring the Israeli military's responsibility in the incident, and the late mention of the attack in its article; the headline was later changed.

Background
Mohammad Bhar was a Palestinian born in the Gaza Strip in 2000. He had Down syndrome and autism, and suffered bullying and beating in school. According to his family, Bhar liked to dance, play sports, and eat mulukhiyah, which is a popular dish in Palestinian cuisine. He was also deeply attached to his mother, Nabila, a widow who had lost her husband after he was killed by the Israeli military during a raid in eastern Gaza City in 2002.

By 2023, Bhar was unable to move without assistance from his family members and spent most of the time sitting in his armchair. His mother, Nabila, told Middle East Eye that Bhar was obese. Nabila, a widow, told the BBC that "He didn’t know how to eat, drink, or change his clothes. I’m the one who changed his nappies. I’m the one who fed him. He didn’t know how to do anything by himself."

Dog attack
Since the start of the Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip of the Israel-Hamas war, Bhar's family said they had been displaced at least six times and had to evacuate 15 times, escaping from Israeli bombing of the Gaza Strip. On 27 June the fighting returned to Shuja'iyya, and the IDF ordered residents to evacuate. By then, the Bhars were weary from moving. In July 2024, the Bhar family was hiding at one of their relatives' house in the Shuja'iyya neighborhood of Gaza City, where the Israeli military was in pursuit of Hamas fighters. The Bhar family said they were under siege for seven days as Israeli forces surrounded the house, and that Mohammad panicked at the sounds of shells and fighter jets surrounding them.

On 3 July 2024, the family said an Israeli military unit raided their house on Nazaz Street. The unit consisted of several dozen soldiers and a combat dog used to check for explosives, booby traps, and to find Hamas fighters. The dog, which was sent into the house first, began attacking Bhar. Mohammad's mother Nabila recalled that the Israeli forces smashed everything in the house when they broke in. When the soldiers arrived in their room, she told them: "He’s disabled, disabled. Have mercy on him, he’s disabled. Keep the dog away from him."

His mother also recalled how the dog then proceeded to attack Mohammad, biting his chest and hand, leaving him bleeding. She said that Mohammad, who had speech difficulties, was screaming at the dog, saying: "wala, wala [hey you]," and at other times, "Khalas ya habibi’ [enough, my dear]." The BBC reported that he was patting the dog’s head. The mother said that Israeli soldiers then took Mohammad to another room away from the dog, while pointing their guns at the rest of the family and telling them that a military doctor would soon arrive. The soldiers tried to treat his wounds, and a military doctor came later. After several hours, Israeli soldiers ordered the Bhar family to leave at gunpoint, and arrested two of Mohammad's brothers, who were not released by 17 July 2024, according to the family. The rest of the family said they sought shelter at a damaged building nearby.

The Bhar family tried to contact the Palestine Red Crescent Society to ask for their assistance, but were informed that the Israeli authorities were not cooperating with their requests. The family said they later returned to the house a week later and found Mohammad's bloodied body lying on the floor and beginning to decay, with worms starting to eat his face. The brother showed the BBC a cellphone video of the scene. A tourniquet was on Bhar’s arm, and there was gauze that was used to dress a wound. The brother said that Bhar had been left by Israeli forces without stitching his wounds or providing any additional care. The BBC reported that it was unclear which of Bhar’s injuries was the cause of death. Mohammad was buried in an alley near the house, as it was too dangerous to transport his body to a graveyard or to the mortuary, according to the family.

Aftermath
Mohammad Bhar's killing provoked outrage on social media websites, and his family demanded an investigation into his killing. The Israeli military said in response to a BBC query that the troops left Bhar in the house alone because there were soldiers injured in a rocket attack somewhere else that needed their help and that one of those soldiers died. The military said that the soldiers left Bhar after giving him first aid. His mother Nabila, who was 70 years old at the time of the incident, told the BBC that: "This scene I will never forget… I constantly see the dog tearing at him and his hand, and the blood pouring from his hand… It is always in front of my eyes, never leaving me for a moment. We couldn't save him, neither from them nor from the dog."

A similar incident was reported a month prior to Mohammad's killing: Al Jazeera posted footage from a camera attached to a dog accompanying Israeli forces, that showed it dragging and biting an elderly Palestinian woman in her home.

The BBC's report was criticized by activists who considered the headline to be obscuring the Israeli military's responsibility in the incident; the headline was later changed. The New Arab reported that the attack was not mentioned until the article's 16th paragraph, nearly halfway through the article.

Parents from Israel whose children have Down syndrome protested in Tel Aviv, Israel after reports of his death.