War on Gaza: Anger grows over viral image of wounded Palestinian stripped to underwear
Anger is mounting over an image released by an Israeli soldier towering over a stripped, bound and wounded Palestinian man in the besieged Gaza Strip.
In the undated image uploaded to Instagram by Yosee Gamzoo, who is the apparent photographer of the scene, the Palestinian man’s hands are tied behind his back as blood pours from a wound in his leg at a school in Gaza City.
Gamzoo has since deleted the post as well as his Instagram account after the image went viral and was widely shared by pro-Palestinian accounts.
Several social media users condemned the photo, with some likening it to images from Abu Ghraib where Iraqi detainees were humiliated and tortured by American guards.
"This is one of the most moral armies," journalist Dima Halwani sarcastically tweeted as she shared the photo.
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On Monday, US State Department spokesman Vedant Patel called the image "deeply troubling" but deferred questions about violations of humanitarian law in relation to the Israeli military.
"I have no knowledge or information as it relates to the circumstances surrounding that incident," Patel said.
Late last year, images shared by Israeli soldiers caused widespread anger as they showed scores of blindfolded and handcuffed Palestinian men in Gaza City who were forced to strip down to their underwear.
Israeli media had claimed the images were of Hamas members surrendering themselves. However, among them were doctors, teachers and journalists, including Diaa al-Kahlout, a correspondent for Araby al-Jadeed.
Since then, similar instances of abuse have been captured on camera. Last week, the Palestinian foreign affairs ministry called for an international probe into "Israeli massacres" in Gaza after the discovery of a mass grave.
The bodies of 50 men, women and children were discovered in body bags in a schoolyard in the northern Gaza Strip.
Editor's note, 7/2/2024: The article has been corrected to say Yosee Gamzoo is the photographer and not the soldier featured in the image
This article is available in French on Middle East Eye French edition.
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