JERUSALEM 

Detainees in videos captured and shared by Israel on social media are actually far from being the Hamas fighters as they are portrayed, according to the family of one of these Palestinians.

The Israeli army, which continues to expand its occupation of the Gaza Strip, has been subjecting Palestinian men it has detained half-naked since Dec. 7 to degrading treatment and parading it on social media, not through official channels.

Israeli officials, journalists and people active on social media circulate these photos as "surrendered Hamas fighters.”

The relatives who recognize the Palestinians subjected to inhumane treatment from the images and videos say these people are civilians staying in asylum centers in the region, and not Hamas fighters.

Far from being Hamas fighters

Hani al-Madhoun, a Palestinian living in the US, told Anadolu that he saw his brother Mahmoud and his father along with his nephew detained half-naked in photos published from Beit Lahiya district in northern Gaza.

He said the Israeli army struck his brother Majeed's house hours before the start of the humanitarian pause on Nov. 24, adding he lost his older brother, sister-in-law and four nephews in the attack.

Regarding the images of Palestinians detained in Beit Lahiya, which were first circulated on Dec. 7, he noted: "One of them is my brother Mahmoud, a shopkeeper and a family man having kids.”

“He lacks the physical attributes to be a fighter. I think it takes a little bit of fitness to be a fighter,” he said.

“I saw Mahmoud in the video released by the Israeli army claiming that these are 'Hamas fighters',” the brother indicated, mentioning: “I saw the photo of my nephew Abud being put into a military truck.”

“Half of the men you see in this video are people from the al-Madhoun family, or from this neighborhood where we grew up together," he emphasized.

Pointing out that the people in these images are civilians who have taken refuge in this area, he underlined: "Israel may want to say to the public 'Look, we have captured Hamas fighters'.”

“I know more than half of the people in this video, and they are far from being Hamas fighters,” he noted.

‘Israelis need a victory photo’

Hani al-Madhoun also said his family is known for its closeness to Hamas's rival Fatah Movement in Palestinian politics, noting that people in his neighborhood have similar views.

He stated that the destruction in the Gaza Strip was far beyond what could be imagined, adding that the house where his family lived was destroyed and they were homeless.

"Maybe the Israelis need a victory photo. If this is going to end the war, we can all go out on the streets naked and say, 'OK, we surrender',” he said.

“Maybe that way they (the Israeli army) will return home. If they really wanted to capture Hamas fighters, they would not have resorted to detaining my brother in this way,” he added.

He explained that hours before the start of the humanitarian pause on Nov. 24, his older brother Majeed went out to look for water and returned to his house after someone promised him to find water, but when that person returned with water, he found the house destroyed.

Noting that his brother, sister-in-law and four nephews were killed by a bomb made in the US, he said: "There is a big regional geopolitical game. They are trying to teach a lesson from Gaza and shape the Middle East through it.”

“That's what people in the White House are thinking, despite the price they'll pay in the election next year,” he decried.

"I am in favor of no one being harmed, neither in Palestine nor in Israel,” he underscored, adding: “Hamas is blamed for the victims of the pro-Israel demonstrations in the US, but no one points out who killed my family.

Hours of torture by Israeli soldiers

He also shared on social media what his father, brother and nephew, who were detained by Israeli soldiers in Gaza, told him after they were released.

According to his family, Israeli soldiers used violence and torture on the detained Palestinians, and humiliated them, he said, mentioning that they were taken to an open field blindfolded and held there for hours in the cold with their hands tied behind their backs.

He said the Palestinians detained in this state were beaten up when they asked for water, and hours later the soldiers brought them to the city and left them on the streets without clothes.

‘Israel humiliating itself by trying to humiliate Gaza’

Israel started sharing images of Palestinians it had detained dressed up after photos of half-naked Palestinians in Gaza triggered a worldwide backlash.

However, Israel maintained its claim that the people in question were "Hamas fighters.”

A large number of journalists, officials and influential figures in Israel shared images of Palestinian men detained half-naked in Gaza, claiming them to be “Hamas fighters who have surrendered.”

Similarly, the international press also made the same claims.

Israeli Deputy Mayor of Jerusalem Arieh King shared a photo of unarmed people detained by the Israeli army in Gaza on X, saying: "They are not human beings" and "Muslim Nazis" for them.

Gideon Levy, a writer for the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, criticized these photos in an article titled "Israel is humiliating itself by trying to humiliate Gaza in every aspect.”

"There can be no great example that we have lost our direction enough to resort to despicable methods in order to humiliate the Palestinians for everyone to see,” he expressed.

Israel has bombarded the Gaza Strip from the air and land, imposed a siege and mounted a ground offensive in retaliation for a cross-border attack by Hamas on Oct. 7.

At least 18,412 Palestinians have been killed and 50,100 injured in the Israeli onslaught since then, according to Gaza’s health authorities.

The Israeli death toll in the Hamas attack stands at 1,200, while around 139 hostages remain in captivity, according to official figures.