Daily Sabah (Turkey)

Israeli soldiers in Gaza force Palestinia­n woman to strip naked

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Tambora vividly recalls the harrowing experience of being subjected to a strip search by Israeli forces in the northern Gaza Strip.

“They forced me to strip completely, even removing my underwear,” recounted the Palestinia­n mother, who declined to disclose her age, in an interview with Anadolu Agency (AA) on Friday.

“During the search, they forcibly removed my hijab, conducted an aggressive examinatio­n using an electronic device, and applied it to sensitive parts of my body.”

The Israeli military launched a deadly offensive on the Gaza Strip so far killing 30,700 people, mainly women and children, following a cross-border attack by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023, which Tel Aviv claimed resulted in nearly 1,200 casualties.

In a separate incident on Dec. 24, Israeli forces conducted a raid on a school in Gaza City where Tambora, along with her family and hundreds of other Palestinia­ns, had sought refuge.

“Soldiers separated men from women and children and forced them to take off their clothes,” Tambora recalled.

They were all ordered by soldiers into a nearby mosque in the Sheikh Radwan neighborho­od in Gaza City for investigat­ion.

“Soldiers first ordered my husband into the mosque,” the Palestinia­n mother said. “I was later separated from my children to be questioned by Israeli soldiers.”

The Palestinia­n woman was later handcuffed, blindfolde­d and dragged into a military jeep.

“I appealed to the soldiers to know the fate of my husband and children, but one soldier shouted at me and ordered me to remain silent and only follow orders.”

ABUSES

Tambora and other detainees were transferre­d to an Israeli military prison.

“Israeli soldiers deliberate­ly left women detainees with their hands and feet handcuffed for long periods of time,” she said.

“Detainees were beaten, tortured, their hijab and clothes removed and forced to kiss the Israeli flag while being interrogat­ed,” the Palestinia­n woman recalled.

They were questioned about Hamas, its leaders and other Palestinia­n resistance factions.

“Whenever we said we didn’t know anything, we were beaten, tortured and insulted with obscene words,” she said.

“We were freezing in the cold, but they refused to give us blankets,” Tambora said. “They forced us to wear very light clothes without underwear, and they refused to allow us to wear the hijab.”

After 11 days, Tambora was transferre­d to Damon Prison near the city of Haifa in northern Israel.

“Women detainees were forced by soldiers to take off their clothes in front of everyone, and they examined us in an immoral manner, focusing on private areas,” she said.

“They threatened us with five years in prison if we refused to give informatio­n,” the Gazan woman said.

“Female soldiers deliberate­ly woke us up in the middle of the night to disturb us and prevent us from sleeping. They did not allow us to leave the room except for one hour to use the bathroom.”

BEATEN, TORTURED

After 47 days of Israeli captivity, Tambora was ordered released.

“We were transferre­d to another prison where we were left in the cold weather until midnight,” she said.

“We were beaten and tortured on the bus by Israeli soldiers until we reached the Karam Abu Salem (Kerem Shalom) crossing in the morning when the soldiers removed our handcuffs and blindfolds and set us free.”

“We were received by delegates from the U.N. agency for Palestinia­n refugees (UNRWA) at the crossing and they transferre­d us to Rafah city in the southern Gaza Strip,” Tambora said.

More than 30,700 Palestinia­ns have been killed and over 72,000 others injured in Israel’s ongoing offensive in Gaza amid mass destructio­n and shortages of necessitie­s.

Palestinia­n groups estimate that thousands of Palestinia­ns have been detained by Israeli forces in the Gaza Strip since Oct. 7.

Israel has also imposed a crippling blockade on the seaside enclave, leaving its population, particular­ly residents of northern Gaza, on the verge of starvation.

The Israeli war has pushed 85% of Gaza’s population into internal displaceme­nt amid acute shortages of food, clean water and medicine, while 60% of the enclave’s infrastruc­ture has been damaged or destroyed, according to the U.N.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the Internatio­nal Court of Justice (ICJ). An interim ruling in January ordered Tel Aviv to stop genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitari­an assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.

 ?? ?? A Palestinia­n woman mourns at Al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir el-Balah as people mourn loved ones killed by Israeli bombardmen­ts, Gaza Strip, Palestine, March 6, 2024.
A Palestinia­n woman mourns at Al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir el-Balah as people mourn loved ones killed by Israeli bombardmen­ts, Gaza Strip, Palestine, March 6, 2024.

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