Israeli soldiers seen posing with Gaza women’s underwear in online post

Israeli soldiers are posting photos and videos of themselves messing with lingerie found in Palestinian homes, creating an inconsistent visual record of the war in Gaza as impending famine intensifies world scrutiny of Israel’s offensive .

In one video, an Israeli soldier sits smiling on a chair in a room in Gaza, holding a gun in one hand and with the other hand dangling white satin underwear over the open mouth of a comrade lying on a sofa.

Elsewhere, another soldier sits on top of a tank holding a female mannequin wearing a black bra and helmet and says: “I found a beautiful wife in Gaza, serious relationship, great woman.”

Two videos shot by Israeli soldiers are among dozens of posts showing soldiers in Gaza displaying lingerie, mannequins and, in some cases, both. The lingerie images have been viewed thousands of times after being reposted by Younes Tirawi, who describes himself as a Palestinian reporter – nearly half a million in one case.

When asked about the images reposted to his more than 100,000 followers on Instagram between February 23 and March 1, Tirawi provided links to the original posts by IDF soldiers. Reuters then independently verified eight of those posted on Instagram or YouTube.

“Posting such images is an insult to Palestinian women and all women,” said Ravina Shamdasani, spokeswoman for the UN human rights office.

Reuters referred details of eight verified posts on YouTube or Instagram to the Israel Defense Forces and requested comment.

In response, a spokesperson sent a statement saying that the IDF investigates incidents that deviate from the orders and expected values ​​of IDF soldiers, as well as reports of videos uploaded to social networks.

It states, “In cases where suspicion of a criminal offense arises which justifies the initiation of an investigation, an investigation is initiated by the Military Police.”

“It should be clarified that in some of the cases investigated, it has been concluded that the expression or behavior of the soldiers in the video is inappropriate, and it is handled accordingly,” the statement said.

The IDF declined to say whether it was referring to any of the images highlighted by Reuters, or whether any of the soldiers responsible had been disciplined.

The Israeli soldiers whom Reuters was able to identify did not respond to requests for comment sent through their social media accounts.

mannequins and underwear

The verified posts include a photo of a soldier holding a naked female mannequin from behind with his hands on her breasts and a soldier handling a semi-nude doll.

One photo showed a soldier giving a thumbs up gesture with his gun in front of a double bed filled with packets of women’s underwear.

YouTube said it had removed a video flagged by Reuters for violating the platform’s harassment policies, which prohibit content that exposes anyone’s personally identifiable information. Instagram did not comment.

The Israeli military operation in Gaza was launched on October 7 in response to an attack on Israel by the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, in which, according to Israel, Hamas activists killed about 1,200 people and took 253 hostage.

The posts come at a time when both Hamas and Israel are being accused of serious war crimes. A team of UN experts said in a report this month that there are reasonable grounds to believe that sexual violence, including rape and gang rape, took place at several locations during the October 7 attack by Hamas.

Experts also said there was strong information that some Israeli hostages taken to Gaza were subjected to sexual violence that may still be ongoing.

Israel is accused of pushing Gaza towards famine. The UN team of experts also said in its recent report that it had received information about sexual violence against Palestinians by the IDF from institutional and civil society sources and from direct interviews in the West Bank.

Both sides reject allegations of sexual violence.

The severity of the lingerie and mannequin posts does not compare to the alleged crimes against women reported since October 7. Nevertheless, two legal experts said they potentially violated international law.

Ardie Imseis, an assistant professor of law at Queen’s University in Canada, said the post violated Article 27 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, which regulates the treatment of civilians in time of war.

Article 27 states that citizens are entitled to respect for their honour, family rights, manners and customs, and must be protected against insults and public curiosity, and women in particular against any attack on their honour. Must be protected from.

Within Israel, the lingerie post has attracted little attention, said Oren Persico of Seventh Eye, a website that covers Israeli media. In contrast, he said, posts showing weapons or Hamas flags being found in Gazan homes are being widely circulated.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)