Palestinian men stripped as they surrender to Israel Defence Forces in Gaza
Extraordinary pictures emerge of prisoners in northern Gaza, reports suggesting that Hamas fighters may have been among those captured.
Scores of Palestinian men surrendered to the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) in northern Gaza on Thursday, before being stripped to their underwear, lined up and then taken away by army truck.
Images released from Gaza showed more than 100 men, sitting on the ground in a street, said to be in the neighbourhood of Beit Lahia. They are stripped to their underpants, with some also wearing vests, and have their heads bowed.
Another photograph shows a large group of men similarly stripped and with their hands bound behind their back in a semi-desert area. A video shows a group of men being driven away in the back of an army truck.
No explanation has been given so far for the images, though online reports claimed that at least some of the men were Hamas fighters who surrendered to the army, which is in the final stages of operations to enforce control of northern Gaza.
However, one of the men in the pictures was identified by colleagues as Diaa Al-Kahlout, a journalist for an international Arabic online newspaper.
Israeli forces regularly strip their captives to ensure they are not carrying concealed weapons or explosives.
The pictures may have been released to indicate the speed with which the IDF are attempting to complete ground operations in Gaza. On Wednesday night, they said they had reached the house of Yahya Sinwar, the leader of Hamas in Gaza, in Khan Yunis, the second city and the largest in the south.
They have also been moving aggressively against remaining Hamas-held areas in Gaza city and other towns in the north.
Two more Israeli soldiers were killed, according to reports, one of them Sergeant Gal Meir Eisenkot, 25, son of a member of the war cabinet and former chief of staff, Gadi Eisenkot.
Gadi Eisenkot is a member of the National Unity party founded by another former chief of staff, Benny Gantz, who was previously defence minister.
“Together with all of Israel I send my support to Gadi and to his entire family, and a big hug,” Gantz said. “We are all committed to keep fighting for the sacred cause for which Gal died.”
Benjamin Netanyahu, the prime minister, said he and his wife Sara were “broken-hearted” at the news.
Eisenkot was said to have been killed by an explosive device planted at the head of a tunnel shaft uncovered by Israeli forces. He was taken to Asuta Hospital in Ashdod, but pronounced dead on arrival.
The Times
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