British ex-soldier pictured posing in front of burning Gaza school faces calls for war crimes probe: Report

A British man who served in the Israeli military was photographed posing in front of a burning school in Gaza, prompting calls for a further investigation into his potential involvement in war crimes, according to an investigation by Declassified UK. A film published by the investigative news outlet on YouTube identified the man as Jonathan Burman, a British citizen who reportedly attended school in Manchester before spending a gap year in Israel and later joining the Israeli army. The Israeli military confirmed to Declassified that Burman served in the 55th Brigade, an elite reserve paratrooper unit. According to the investigation, Burman posted the photograph on a private Instagram account. The image appeared to show him in Gaza's Khan Younis area, with extensive destruction visible behind him. Airwars, a transparency watchdog, traced the school to Bani Suheila, east of Khan Younis, identifying it as Madrasa al-Farabi. The school was attacked by Israeli soldiers on Dec. 12, 2023. However, Airwars found that an Israeli military statement describing an operation against an alleged terrorist cell referred to a different school about two kilometers away. The film also cited research by the Hind Rajab Foundation, which identified a military company Burman likely served with and linked it to close combat and the destruction of residential buildings in Khan Younis. Yuval Green, a former medic in the brigade's 66th Battalion, told Declassified that some soldiers were motivated by extreme religious beliefs and viewed the war as an opportunity to kill Palestinians and displace them. Chris Sidoti, a member of the UN Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, said the evidence presented warranted further investigation while stressing that it did not establish Burman's guilt. He called on London's Metropolitan Police to investigate. Burman did not respond to requests for comment, Declassified said. An estimated 2,000 British-Israeli dual nationals are believed to have served in the Israeli military during its war on Gaza, it noted. In April, London's Metropolitan Police said it would not investigate 10 British nationals accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza, citing no realistic prospect of conviction and difficulties conducting an effective investigation. The decision followed a dossier submitted by Palestinian rights groups to the force's war crimes unit.