JUST IN: CNN Airs ‘Disgusting’ Footage of Israeli Soldiers Holding Blindfolded Men Stripped to Underwear in Gaza
Video of Israeli soldiers detaining men stripped to their underwear in Gaza was aired by CNN This Morning in a report filed by correspondent Ben Wedeman.
In introducing the segment, CNN’s Poppy Harlow opened with “New and disgusting images this morning showing the Israeli military detaining dozens of men in Gaza that are seen stripped down to their underwear.”
“The exact dates and circumstances of the detention are not clear yet. The IDF has not responded to CNN’s request for comment,” Mattingly added, which was later corrected by Wedemen. “Actually, one of the chief spokesmen for the Israeli military did come out with a statement saying that we check who is connected to Hamas and who is not, and we detain and question everybody,” he reported.
“This is not, although the image is disturbing, it’s not the first time this has happened,” Wedeman reported. “Back in 2002, when I was covering Israel’s re-invasion of the West Bank, we saw on multiple occasions that essentially all men, teenagers actually from around 15 to 60 in many towns and villages were just rounded up, corralled into one place, and they were slowly, one by one, taken for questioning. Some were released, some were not.”
He said, “CNN has been in touch with people who say they recognize relatives there. This one, for instance, said he’s a shopkeeper. He has nothing to do with any of the militant factions. Another apparently is a journalist. And he also his editor protested this. But it does appear that what the Israelis are doing in areas that they control, particularly in northern Gaza, they’re going into these U.N. schools where people have sheltered. They’re just taking all the men of military age and probably a bit younger and a bit older and taking them away for questioning.”
The images and footage show men in blindfolds and stripped to their underwear while armed soldiers reported to be IDF, stand among them. Given the passions surrounding the Israel-Hamas War, it’s hard to imagine this footage not being used as a political tool by the “ceasefire now” side, which has focused on inhumane treatment and civilian deaths in Palestine.
Of course, Israel is at war with Hamas following the brutal attacks on October 7th, and detaining individuals has long been a tactic, but only recently in a world where everyone has a camera on their phone.
Watch above via CNN.
