Video appears to show at least two children stripped and detained by IDF in Gaza stadium among Palestinian men
CNN
By Abeer Salman, Ibrahim Dahman and Mitch McCluskey, CNN
(CNN) — An edited video circulating on social media appears to show Palestinian men and at least two children detained and stripped by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) in a stadium in northern Gaza.
Clips in the video show what appear to be two young boys in one frame, stripped down to their underwear, walking and holding both their hands up as the IDF directs them in the stadium.
In another clip, two figures who appear to be the same young boys stripped of their clothing are seen with their hands above their heads, as they are lined up in single file lines with other males who appear to be teens and adults.
CNN is unable to verify when the video was shot. A CNN geolocation of the video shows it was filmed in Yarmouk Stadium in Gaza City, where NGO Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor has said it received reports of detentions.
CNN reached out to the IDF late Tuesday night for comment on the video and the children detained but has not yet heard back.
Hundreds of Palestinian men and boys have been detained by Israeli forces in recent weeks. In the past, the IDF has said it has stripped detainees to ensure they were not carrying explosives.
Throughout the video, men can be seen stripped down to their underwear. In some clips, the detainees are sitting on the floor with their hands tied to their backs, some blindfolded, and standing in single file lines as soldiers overlook and inspect them.
Clips of the video also show women and other children detained. In one shot, three fully clothed women are seen blindfolded with their hands tied behind their backs as they sit on the grass in front of a soccer goal in the stadium. An Israeli flag is seen hanging on the soccer goal.
Stripped and blindfolded Palestinian men – their hands also tied behind their backs – are seen sitting next to the women.
Military vehicles and bulldozers are also seen throughout the stadium in the video.
The original video was uploaded on December 24 to YouTube by Yosee Gamzoo Letova, a photographer and artist, according to his Facebook profile.
The non-profit Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor says it has received information that the Israeli army is detaining hundreds of Palestinians from the Sheikh Radwan neighborhood of Gaza City, among them dozens of women who were taken to Yarmouk Stadium.
“Palestinian males, including children as young as 10 years old and elderly people over the age of 70, were forced to take off all of their clothes except their underwear and line up in a humiliating manner in front of the women detained in the same stadium,” the human rights organization said in a statement. The organization is calling on the international community to investigate the images of detainment.
At least 20,915 people in Gaza have died since war with Israel began on October 7, according to the Hamas-controlled Ministry of Health. Nearly 55,000 more people have been injured, the ministry said. CNN cannot independently verify the numbers released by the ministry in Gaza, as access to the enclave is limited and reliable numbers are hard to confirm amid the fighting.
Hamas will not reenter negotiations with Israel “without a comprehensive cessation of aggression,” according to Izzat Al-Rishq, a member of the militant group’s political bureau.
“Hamas leadership seeks a permanent cessation to the aggression and massacres against our people. Our people want to see this aggression completely halted, and do not want to wait for a temporary or partial truce for a short period, after which the aggression and terrorism might fatally continue,” read the statement by Al-Rishq.
Israel meanwhile has vowed to continue its siege – which has included intensive aerial bombardment and a sustained ground invasion – until Hamas is eradicated. Herzi Halevi, the IDF chief of general staff, said Tuesday that the campaign would continue for “many more months.”
“It is taking place in a complex area. Therefore, the war will continue for many more months, and we will operate in various ways – so that the achievement will be preserved over time,” Halevi said at a press briefing.
This is a breaking news story and will be updated.
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