War crime. It is one of the most serious allegations one can make against a soldier. The Munich native Daniel G. is thought to have killed at least two unarmed people in Gaza City on November 22, 2023, as a sniper in the Israeli armed forces.

DER SPIEGEL heard of the allegations for the first time in October 2024. They came in the form of a video clip that Palestinian journalist Younis Tirawi posted on X. In the clip, Daniel G., who is now 25 years old, is incriminated by one of his comrades.

In the video, a soldier identified as "Sergeant D.” is being interviewed in summer 2024 by a young Israeli. It becomes clear from the conversation that "Sergeant D.” and his partner, Daniel G., shot and killed several unarmed men during their deployment in the Gaza Strip.

In the video interview, the young Israeli posing the questions and "Sergeant D.” watched footage of various killings and discussed them. In two instances, he said on camera that the deadly shots had been fired by his partner, the man who can be identified in the images as Daniel G. "Sergeant D.” said that several of the victims had been unarmed.

But the interview was a trap. DER SPIEGEL has learned that the Palestinian journalist Younis Tirawi and his Israeli partner convinced the soldier that he was taking part in a documentary about "heroes” in the Israeli military. "Sergeant D.” received a small payment for his participation; DER SPIEGEL has seen the proof of payment.

Initial Questions

The soldier agreed to take part in the interview on the condition that his face be blurred out and his real name not be used. Tirawi and his Israeli partner, however, ignored this agreement. Furthermore, the incriminating comments were made during a break in the interview, but the cameras continued to roll without "Sergeant D.’s” knowledge.

As such, DER SPIEGEL was faced with two questions at the very beginning of this project: Is the interview authentic or had the recording been manipulated? And: Can the statements from "Sergeant D.” be used as the basis for a story even though they were made under false pretenses?

To answer the first question, DER SPIEGEL and its German reporting partner, the public broadcaster ZDF, asked the Fraunhofer Institute for Secure Information Technology to examine the footage. DER SPIEGEL is in possession of the complete interview, which is roughly 160 minutes long. Much of the footage has never been published. The Fraunhofer Institute examined the video file containing the most important statements and found no evidence "suggesting any change in content.”

Furthermore, the Palestinian journalist Tirawi backed up his account of how the interview was produced with an affidavit. DER SPIEGEL knows the name of the young Israeli who interviewed "Sergeant D.” on Tirawi’s behalf, but we have chosen not to publish it to protect his safety.

The second of the two questions, however, was more difficult to answer. As a rule, DER SPIEGEL journalists identify themselves as such. There are significant hurdles for covert reporting projects, though they are an option in exceptional cases. In this instance, however, the interview trap was set up without the involvement of DER SPIEGEL. Furthermore, the statements made by "Sergeant D.” circulated online afterwards.

On top of that, public interest in the crimes revealed by the interview was judged to be significant, and the accusations being made were serious. It was a similar situation to the so-called "Ibiza video,” which led to the collapse of the Austrian government under the leadership of Chancellor Sebastian Kurz.

"This is not simply about a single killing,” says Tirawi. The approximately 20 soldiers who belong to the unit, including "Sergeant D.” and Daniel G., are "involved in the deaths of more than 120 people.” Many of the killings, he says, took place near hospitals – areas like the one Daniel G. was operating in. As such, Tirawi decided to disregard ethical concerns. "It was necessary.”

Given the severity of the accusations and the far-reaching public interest, DER SPIEGEL decided to use the statements made by "Sergeant D.” as the starting point for additional reporting – to investigate suspicions that a Munich native had committed war crimes in the Gaza Strip.

Authenticity of the Video

There are three relevant videos showing how Israeli snipers kill apparent civilians in Gaza. They are the sequences that "Sergeant D.” watches and comments on in the video.

The scenes are from a film uploaded to YouTube by a soldier from the 202nd Paratrooper Brigade on April 19, 2024 – the same unit to which "Sergeant D.” and Daniel G. also belong.

The clip, accompanied by music, is seven-and-a-half minutes long and shows photos and videos of the soldiers in Gaza. The film has since been removed from YouTube, but it can still be found on the internet. Palestinian journalist Tirawi then used elements of the video for his reporting, including the killings of three people who appear to be unarmed civilians.

In the interview trap set up by Tirawi, "Sergeant D.” discusses the first two sequences, saying: "That was my team’s first elimination. Sorry, the second.” Then, he clarified: "It was my zemed,” using the Hebrew word for partner.

When watching the third scene, "Sergeant D.” said it was his "first elimination.” In response to a follow-up question, he confirmed that the man in the video had been unarmed. With his comments, he didn’t just incriminate his partner Daniel G., but also himself.

It isn’t possible to see in the video of the interview what footage "Sergeant D.” and the Israeli interviewer were watching. But there are several indications suggesting that they were indeed watching the killing scenes from the YouTube video.

• "Sergeant D.” spoke explicitly of thermal images – and two of the three scenes in question were filmed by a thermal camera.

• "Sergeant D.” explicitly referred to a scene in which an attempt was made to recover a body, which also matches up with one of the scenes.

• The music and noises that can be heard in the interview are also consistent with scenes from the YouTube video. To confirm this, DER SPIEGEL compared the audio tracks of the YouTube video with those that can be heard in Tirawi’s video interview. As such, it was possible to confirm that "Sergeant D.” was in fact commenting on the footage of the deadly shots.

Shooter, Victim, Location

Who, though, are the two shooters? Who were the victims? When and where were the shots fired?

Vital clues as to the soldiers’ identities came from an Instagram group that members of the 202nd Paratrooper Brigade belong to, a group first reported on by Tirawi, the Palestinian journalist.

A comparison with publicly available videos and photos revealed that "Sergeant D.” – the man from the interview – is from Chicago and his partner Daniel G. is from Munich. A photo published by the Jüdische Allgemeine, a newspaper put out by the Jewish community in Germany, shows Daniel G. standing next to Charlotte Knobloch, president of the Jewish Community of Munich, at a function.

With the help of satellite imagery, social media posts and photos, DER SPIEGEL was able to pinpoint the precise spot where at least one of the videos was made: Munir-al-Rajjis Street in Tel al-Hawa, a district located in the southern part of Gaza City. In the video, "Sergeant D.” also spoke of killings that took place near a park called "Maarav Barcelona” – Hebrew for West Barcelona. In the six-floor building at Barcelona Park, where DER SPIEGEL determined that "Sergeant D.” and Daniel G. had been, reporters found doodles on the wall in which the park was referred to as "Maarav Barcelona.”

To confirm the authenticity, location and context of the images, we compared distinctive details with photos of the surrounding area, closely examining structures, street vegetation and power poles. For verification purposes, photos were gathered from a variety of perspectives and from different times. In addition to publicly available material such as satellite images and social media posts, DER SPIEGEL also used current photos taken on site in Gaza.

According to "Sergeant D.”, he, Daniel G. and their comrades marched into the Gaza Strip on the night of November 2, 2023, not quite four weeks after the Hamas attack on Israel. That timeline is confirmed by media reports. An officer from the 202nd Paratrooper Brigade, for example, told the Israeli newspaper Maariv that the soldiers had been ordered to take "tall buildings” surrounding Al-Quds Hospital in Tel al-Hawa. During this period, there were a growing number of reports of soldiers firing at civilians. "Barcelona Garden,” as the park is also called, is located less than 400 meters as the crow flies from Al-Quds hospital in Tel al-Hawa.

Satellite imagery from different months also helps determine the time the videos were shot. An image from August 2023, for example, shows an intact building which, in a later image from October 2023, is destroyed. Another building, by contrast, is still intact. But an image from April 2024 then shows that this building, too, was now partially destroyed. This method makes it possible to establish the possible timeframe for when the videos were made.

The fact that the unit to which "Sergeant D.” and Daniel G. belonged was deployed to precisely that spot is substantiated – beyond the statements made by "Sergeant D.” – by on-site reporting conducted by DER SPIEGEL and its partners. Reporters found scribbling on the walls in several buildings in Tel al-Hawa, such as distance indications and song lyrics in Hebrew – and in one instance, the number nine with a tail and horns, the informal logo of the sniper group to which Daniel G. belonged. In photos, the symbol can be seen on the men’s uniforms, T-shirts and helmets.

DER SPIEGEL and its partners also showed the three videos of killings that had been available on YouTube to residents of the Tel al-Hawa district. Several witnesses said that the three deadly incidents all occurred on November 22, 2023 – around 100 meters from each other. On that day, say witnesses, several district residents had been killed by snipers.

A number of family members claimed to recognize victims shown in the videos. These statements are in DER SPIEGEL’s possession, either as recordings or transcripts. According to those statements, the victims are three men between the ages of 19 and 47: Mohammed Farid Doghmosh, Mohammed Montasser Doghmosh and Salem Montasser Doghmosh. Furthermore, the father of Mohammed and Salem was allegedly struck by gunfire as he sought to rescue his two sons. The 51-year-old died one day later in the hospital.

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.

Several experts interviewed by DER SPIEGEL – including a forensic weapons expert from Britain, a former German military soldier, a munitions specialist from Armament Research Services and specialists from the organization Forensic Architecture – do not believe that the projectile is actually sniper munition. It is moving too slowly, they say. Calculations performed by DER SPIEGEL arrived at the same conclusion.

"Sergeant D.’s” story, by contrast, is consistent with the accounts provided by eyewitnesses and with conditions at the site. One video, for example, shows Daniel G. in a six-floor building at the edge of a park, a location from which there is a clear line of site to Munir-al-Rajjis Street.

In the recorded interview, "Sergeant D.” also says that the team "eliminated two terrorists” on the "same axis” as his own first elimination. DER SPIEGEL was able to determine where these killings apparently took place with the help of drone footage and witness reports.

The man who "Sergeant D.” says he shot was likely Salem Montasser Doghmosh, 19. Three people say they recognized him in the video clips. They say he was killed at the same place on Munir-al-Rajjis Street as his brother Mohammed Montasser Doghmosh.

Israeli snipers are thought to have severely injured other people on that November 22 as well, with some of them dying from their wounds. DER SPIEGEL and its partners spoke with survivors – and there are also photos of gunshot wounds and letters from doctors documenting serious injuries. At least six people were struck by gunfire on the axis discussed by "Sergeant D.” And that matches a statement by "Sergeant D.” In the video interview, he says that the soldiers shot at people who tried to get to those who had been shot. "They just kept on coming to try and take these bodies,” he said.