Doctor: Hostages released by Hamas suffered “terrible abuse”, children were drugged

Israel Admits Overreach: Detains and Disarms Military-Age Men in Gaza

Photos circulating in the media and on social media last week showing Palestinian men stripped down to their underwear by soldiers in the Gaza Strip have raised a number of questions about Israeli procedures in the enclave and questions about possible rights violations or degrading treatment.

Israel’s military has confirmed it has arrested hundreds of people, saying Hamas members are surrendering en masse as the terror group collapses amid a campaign by the military to crush the attackers.

Freeze Frame/Images from Gaza: Stripped, blindfolded and hands tied

But military officials also said that many of those detained were later released, and officials noted that troops may operate on the principle of arrest first, question later.

On Sunday night, Israel’s national security adviser, Tzachi Hanegbi, said the suspects should be searched to make sure they don’t have weapons or explosives, but that pictures of them in their underwear “serve no one” and that he hoped Israel would stop circulating such images. photos.

A senior Israeli official has admitted that photos of hundreds of Palestinian men detained by Israel Defense Forces in the Gaza Strip and stripped down to their underwear may be “uncomfortable”.

One of the sources told The Times of Israel that the army only detains those it has specific suspicions about, and that stripping them is necessary to make sure no one is hiding weapons or explosives.

Freeze Frame/Images from Gaza: Stripped, blindfolded and hands tied

Army spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari detailed the arrest procedure later Sunday, but also noted that the humiliating photos were not released by his service and that the military would change the arrest procedure in those cases.

Government spokesman Eilon Levy told CNN on Friday that Israel is detaining all military-age men it finds in areas under evacuation orders, which include all of northern Gaza and part of the south, “to find out who the terrorists are.”

“The people we see in these photos are suspected terrorists,” E. Levy said. – We would like all Hamas fighters to wear uniforms with clearly written “Hamas” on their helmets, as this would make them easier to identify. But when Hamas disguises itself as civilians and fights in civilian areas, it is very difficult to find them.”

As Israel’s Channel 12 news reported on Sunday, about 700 people were detained, 60 percent of whom were they were found not to be terrorists. The Haaretz newspaper, based on the assessment of senior defense officials, reported that only 10-15 percent. of those arrested are believed to be linked to Hamas.

According to the Israel Defense Forces, individuals considered a potential threat are stripped to ensure they do not have weapons or explosives.

Freeze Frame/Images from Gaza: Stripped, blindfolded and hands tied

According to the Geneva Conventions, it is illegal to expose prisoners of war to “public curiosity” in order to preserve their dignity and protect them from public recognition and punishment. Some countries claim that arrested terrorists are not protected by the agreement.

The military did not initially comment on the origin of the footage, which began circulating online on Thursday. But at least a few of the photos and videos appear to have been taken from military positions, and some have speculated that they were deliberately leaked as part of a campaign to break the morale of Hamas fighters.

Some of those arrested and released told The Associated Press they were mistreated, including being beaten and given little water.

Ahmad Nimr Salman said elderly men with diabetes or high blood pressure were ignored when they asked soldiers to remove the bindings on their wrists.

He said the soldiers would ask them if they belonged to Hamas, and they would deny it, but then they would be hit. According to the man, his 17-year-old son Amjad is still being held by soldiers.

The group pictured was released after five days and told to go south. Ten freed detainees arrived at a hospital in Deir al-Balah after an ambulance was called.

Hamas representatives, meanwhile, said the photos did not show the arrested members of the group’s armed wing.

“The claims of the occupiers that they are from the al-Qassam Brigades is a baseless lie,” noted Izzat al-Rishq, a senior member of the Hamas politburo. – The Zionist occupation released images and scenes of unarmed civilians in the Gaza Strip after they were detained and weapons were placed next to them, which is nothing more than a chapter in a ridiculous and obvious ploy by the occupation to fabricate an apparent victory against the men of the resistance.”