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Dozens of Palestinian men captured by the IDF, stripped and paraded around Gaza
8 December 2023, 08:40 | Updated: 8 December 2023, 10:39
Dozens of Palestinians captured by the Israel Defence Force (IDF) have been pictured stripped and paraded around Gaza.
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Footage shared online showed a group of Palestinians stripped down to their underwear and lined up on their knees, with shoes and sandals strewn across the street in northern Gaza.
Clips appeared to show IDF troops rounding up the men and transporting them on the back of trucks.
The men are said to have surrendered in the Jabalia refugee camp and nearby areas.
They were stripped "to rule out the possibility that they were carrying weapons", Israeli outlet Walla reported.
It claimed that Israeli soldiers had arrested those pictured and were "investigating" them.
The men were said to have been paraded through Palestine Square as Israeli soldiers surrounded them.
Read more: Images emerge showing Israeli forces 'preparing pumps to flood Hamas tunnels with sea water'
IDF spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel appeared to confirm the men were taken prisoner but did not clarify whether the men were civilians or members of Hamas.
"Jabalia and Shejaiya are 'centres of gravity'... for terrorists, and we are fighting them," he said.
"They are hiding underground and come out and we fight them. Whoever is left in those areas, they come out from tunnel shafts, and some from buildings, and we investigate who is linked to Hamas, and who isn't.
"We arrest them all and interrogate them."
.@UN, hear a loud noise yesterday?
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) December 7, 2023
That was the sound of 12 Hamas rockets launched toward Israeli civilians in southern Israel.
Hamas is the enemy of humanity and makes itself a threat to the entire world. pic.twitter.com/0RDeUfH5j7
It comes as Israel has claimed Hamas has been seen launching rockets from humanitarian areas in southern Gaza.
The Israeli military shared a video and surveillance pictures on X and wrote: "Yesterday, at 15:59, Hamas terrorists launched 12 rockets towards Beer-Sheva.
"The rockets were launched near the tents of Gazan citizens who were evacuated to the south of the Gaza Strip for their protection and near the UN facilities."
The IDF added: "Yesterday at 12:52, Hamas launched a rocket from the humanitarian zone. The rocket landed in the Gaza Strip and put many Gazan citizens at risk."