A photograph depicting a Palestinian man from Gaza stripped to his underwear, blindfolded, and bound face-down to an iron rod has surfaced on social media, drawing sharp condemnation from human rights advocates. The image was shared on a now-deleted personal social media account, with the Hebrew-language caption “good morning”. It was brought to wider public attention by a Palestinian writer and activist who goes by Tamer, and has been cited by activists as further evidence of the widespread abuse of Palestinians held in Israeli detention.
Oneg Ben Dror, representing the prisoner and detainees department at Physicians for Human Rights Israel (PHRI), stated that the photograph corroborates nearly three years of reports regarding the treatment of detainees. She emphasized that both the abusive handling of prisoners and the public dissemination of degrading images can constitute war crimes, describing Israeli detention facilities as “torture camps.”
The Israeli military has acknowledged the authenticity of the image, with a spokesperson noting that the incident does not align with IDF values and regulations and confirming that an inquiry is currently underway. However, the military declined to provide details regarding the identification of the detainee, whether he has received medical support, or if his family has been notified.
Sari Bashi, executive director of the Public Committee Against Torture in Israel, argued that holding a detainee in such a manner violates international law. She characterized the forced nudity and the subsequent sharing of sexualized images as a form of sexual violence and a war crime. Bashi also highlighted that such photos have become a distressing method for families to locate missing loved ones, as the military has frequently deprived families of information regarding those in custody.
The image has caused significant pain for families searching for missing relatives. Rana Abu Nasser identified the man in the photo as her son, Osama, who was seized near the “yellow line” in Gaza in March alongside his one-year-old son, citing specific physical scars and swelling on the man’s legs as identifiers. Similarly, Joudeh al-Ghoul identified the detainee as her son, Amin, who has been missing since his arrest in November 2023.
For the initial seven months of the war, the Israeli military largely withheld information about detainees, a practice described as a policy of forced disappearance. While an email address for inquiries was established in May 2024, the rights group HaMoked has reported that this measure provided only limited improvement, noting that authorities had previously denied holding hundreds of individuals whose arrests were verified by witness accounts.
