A photograph of a Palestinian man from Gaza, stripped to his underwear, blindfolded, and bound face-down to an iron rod, has ignited a firestorm of international condemnation. Shared on Instagram by an Israeli soldier with the Hebrew caption “good morning,” the image has been confirmed as authentic by the Israeli military. Human rights groups say the photo corroborates extensive testimony regarding the torture of Palestinian detainees and that the act of taking and sharing the image may itself constitute a war crime.
The Image and Its Aftermath
The photograph, which was posted on a now-deleted personal social media account, shows a man lying face down on a military cot, his hands bound behind his back with zip ties and a wooden or iron rod strapped from his foot to his neck. The Israeli army initially stated it was unfamiliar with the incident but later confirmed its authenticity. An unnamed military spokesperson said the image is “real footage that occurred in the Gaza Strip”. The military has stated that the incident “does not align with IDF values and regulations” and that a “command-level inquiry” is underway.
Rights Groups: A Pattern of Abuse and War Crimes
Israeli and international human rights organizations have responded with outrage, framing the image not as an isolated incident but as part of a systemic pattern of abuse.
“Both abusive treatment of detainees and the public sharing of humiliating or degrading images of them can constitute war crimes,” said Oneg Ben Dror from the prisoner and detainees department at Physicians for Human Rights Israel (PHRI).
Ben Dror added that the photo “confirms what thousands of testimonies from Palestinian detainees have exposed, and what we and other organisations have been reporting for nearly three years now. Israeli detention facilities are torture camps for Palestinians”.
Sari Bashi, the executive director of the Public Committee Against Torture in Israel (PCATI), emphasized that the treatment depicted violates international law on multiple levels. “There is no security justification for holding a detainee in his underwear,” she stated. “Forced nudity followed by capturing and sharing sexualised images on social media is a form of sexual violence and also a war crime”.
The Palestinian Prisoners’ Society (PPS) also condemned the act, saying, “The image published by Israel’s Netzah Yehuda battalion is yet another manifestation of the systematic dehumanisation of Palestinian prisoners and detainees. It is not an isolated incident, but part of an entrenched pattern of abuse that has escalated dramatically since 7 October 2023”.
Two Mothers’ Anguish: ‘I Know the Details of His Body’
Compounding the outrage is the agonizing uncertainty faced by the families of missing Palestinians. Because Israel has not disclosed the detainee’s identity or location, at least two mothers have come forward, each believing the man in the photo is her missing son.
Rana Abu Nasser is certain the image shows her son Osama, who was seized along with his one-year-old son in March near the “yellow line” that marks the boundary of Israeli military control in Gaza. “I know the details of his body,” she told Reuters. “He has swelling in his foot and scars on his leg – the same swelling on his left leg I saw in the picture”.
Joudeh al-Ghoul wept the first time she saw the photo, instantly believing it was her son Amin, who has been missing since his arrest in November 2023. “It’s him, his hair and chin. He is my son. A mother’s heart can recognise her son. I hugged the mobile phone and started crying,” she said.
Sari Bashi highlighted the painful irony, noting that “this is not the first time Israeli soldiers have published humiliating photos of Palestinian detainees while depriving families of information or access to them. It has become a grotesque and unlawful way for families to get information about their loved ones”.
A Broader Context of Abuse and Impunity
The incident comes amid longstanding allegations of widespread abuse within Israel’s detention system. According to Palestinian and Israeli human rights groups, approximately 9,500 Palestinians are held in Israeli prisons, where detainees are reported to face torture, starvation, and medical neglect. A UN expert recently warned that torture has become a “state doctrine” in Israel, calling it a “defining instrument of ongoing genocide”.
The photo has been attributed to soldiers from the Netzah Yehuda Battalion, an ultra-Orthodox unit within the Kfir Brigade that has a long history of allegations of human rights abuses. The unit has previously been accused of unlawful killings, torture, physical assault, and sexual assault. In a high-profile case in 2022, 78-year-old Palestinian-American Omar Assad died after being detained by soldiers from the battalion.
The Israeli military has stated it has identified the soldiers involved in the recent incident and that they will be dealt with according to the findings of the investigation. However, rights groups and Palestinian advocates remain skeptical, pointing to a history of impunity for such abuses. The Palestinian Prisoners Society has submitted the names of both men identified by their mothers to the military in an effort to secure lawyer visits, a process that often faces significant delays.
