Dozens of Palestinian men stripped and paraded by Israeli military in Gaza
The Israeli army forced Palestinian men to strip and held them blindfolded in Gaza City. Mina Aldroubi author image / courtesy of The National
International condemnation follows images that circulated of men blindfolded at an unknown location
Dozens of Palestinian men have reportedly been captured by the Israeli army and stripped down to their underwear in Gaza city, triggering strong reactions around the globe.
Images circulated on social media and on Israeli TV show the men at an undisclosed location, blindfolded and sitting with their hands tied behind their backs as Israeli soldiers watch.
They show the Israeli military rounding up scores of men and transporting them using lorries.
“We are investigating to see who is linked to Hamas and who is not,” Israeli army spokesman Admiral Daniel Hagari said at a press conference.
Asked about the images, Admiral Hagari said “terrorists were surrendering”.
“They hide underground and come out and we fight them. We investigate and check who is connected to Hamas and who is not,” he said, without offering other details on the clips.
London-based Arabic-language news outlet Al Araby Al Jadeed said on social media platform X, formerly Twitter, that one of its journalists, reporter Diaa Al Kahlout, was among the men, as were members of his family.
A report in its English-language sister outlet The New Arab said the Israeli military had arrested Mr Al Kahlout “along with his brothers, relatives and other civilians, from the market street in Beit Lahia”.
“Al Kahlout was among dozens of Gaza residents arrested by Israeli forces in Gaza and were forced to strip off their clothes and were searched and humiliated before they were taken to an unknown location, according to eyewitness reports,” said the report in The New Arab.
Ramy Abdu, founder and chairman of the Geneva-based Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor, said he spotted Mr Al Kahlout among the detainees.
“I had begged him to leave Beit Lahia to go south of Wadi Gaza, but he told me ‘How can I leave my dear Nada and my elderly mother?’” Mr Abdu said.
He also recognised the director of a school and a UN employee, he said.
The images come at a time when Israel is continuing to press on with its offensive to capture Hamas fighters in the Gaza Strip. The death toll in the Palestinian enclave has soared above 17,000, mostly women and children, the Hamas-run Health Ministry said, and vast areas have been reduced to a rubble-strewn wasteland of bombed and bullet-scarred buildings. – Web Desk / News Agencies
