Israeli underwear line 'inspired' by soldiers wounded in Gaza sparks outrage
An Israeli company has launched an underwear collection "inspired" by soldiers who were wounded during the country's ongoing assault on the Gaza Strip, sparking anger among social media users highlighting record numbers of child amputees in the enclave as a result of the war.
The apparel brand Delta introduced a collection of "adaptive" women's undergarments this week designed for ease of use for those with limited mobility or movement, Haaretz reported. Its ad campaign features models with disabilities, including former soldier Rotem Sdot, who became an amputee three years prior.
While the campaign was praised as "empowering" by many Israeli social media users, hundreds of others expressed anger and disbelief with what they called “tone-deaf” messaging behind the advertisements.
Many called attention to the soaring numbers of those severely injured as a result of Israel’s war on Gaza.
“There are like 1000x more civilian amputees in Gaza than in Israel and it's thanks to the IDF [Israeli army]. Barf,” one user commented on X, formerly known as Twitter.
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“It takes a really special culture to mutilate both the physical and moral integrity of its young by turning them into instruments of genocide, then launch a farcical line of underwear ‘inspired’ by their wounds,” another responded.
“I wonder if the Israeli fashion firm could launch a line of pyjamas for amputee Gazan children,” a user wrote alongside a picture of a Palestinian child amputee.
I wonder if the Israeli fashion firm could launch a line of pyjamas for amputee Gazan children🤔 pic.twitter.com/yP5MrdF2lN
— FRED ENGELS (@FREDDYENGELS) October 14, 2024
In January, Save the Children estimated that 10 children are losing one or both of their legs in the besieged enclave every day.
“Gaza is home to the largest cohort of child amputees in modern history,” a senior UN official told the UN Security Council last week.
“We cannot claim ignorance to what is happening - nor can we afford to look away."
Some social media users also spotlighted pictures and videos of Israeli soldiers in Gaza rummaging through, displaying and wearing Palestinian women's lingerie, which have been shared regularly and widely by troops since the start of the war.
“I wonder how the women feel about their male comrades posing with the underwear of Palestinian women," one user wrote.
Zionists have created the largest cohort of child amputees in human history.
— Jo Kaur (@SikhFeminist) October 15, 2024
In human history. https://t.co/DMYIBloaj7
Another gave a sarcastic response, indicating that the company's next collection would feature those same soldiers displaying women’s lingerie in Gaza.
Are they also planning to launch a lingerie line inspired by the lingerie-wearing genocidal creeps so-called soldiers in Gaza?
— Hanife Öz (@HanifeOz_) October 14, 2024
At least 4,881 Israeli soldiers have been wounded since the war began, according to data published by the Israeli army, while the defence ministry put the number at over 10,000 as of August.
Meanwhile, over 98,117 Palestinians have been wounded in Gaza since the start of the war, according to the health ministry in Gaza.
More than 22,500 people in Gaza have life-changing injuries such as amputations, spinal cord trauma, traumatic brain injuries and major burns, the World Health Organization said last month.
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