Israel Shared Videos Of “Hamas Fighters Surrendering” But People Found Lots Of Signs It Was Staged
In one clip, the man is seen holding the gun in his left hand, while the other clip shows him holding it in his right hand, suggesting the video was filmed multiple times.
After video showing its military stripping Palestinian civilian men to their underwear drew widespread criticism, Israel has released new videos showing what it says is Hamas fighters “surrendering”.
However, it has been accused of staging the videos, after many people pointed out several discrepancies in the clips.
On Saturday Dec. 9, the Israeli military released two videos of the same stripped Palestinian man holding a gun above his head, walking by a row of stripped men and boys holding their ID cards before laying down the gun on the side of the road, saying it was evidence that it was Hamas militants handing over their guns.
The man in the video, which was filmed in front of a UN-run school in Beit Lahia in north Gaza, has been identified as Moin Qeshta al-Masry, the owner of a local aluminium workshop.
People immediately pointed out that it doesn’t make sense that Israeli troops would order the men to strip down while still allowing them to carry their guns.
They also spotted that in one clip, Masry is seen holding the gun in his left hand, while the other clip shows him holding it in his right hand, suggesting the video was filmed multiple times.
In one of the clips, an Israeli soldier can be heard yelling in Arabic in the background, “Habibi, grab the gun I gave you, but don’t shoot it, we don’t want trouble and march slowly carrying it and put it on the other side on the ground.”
Habibi means “my dear” in Arabic.
The latest videos were released two days after video footage surfaced on social media on Thursday Dec. 7 showing rows of Palestinian men stripped down to their underwear, with their hands tied behind their backs, sitting on the ground, while being guarded by Israeli troops.
The video has been verified by rights groups and several media outlets including the BBC and confirmed by the Israeli army.
The men – which witnesses said included children as young as 13, journalists and UN workers – were taken from two UN-run schools that were serving as shelters in Beit Lahia in northern Gaza, according to rights group Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor.
Some Israeli media said that the men are “possible” Hamas fighters but did not give further details, according to Middle East Eye.
When asked by the BBC about the initial videos, the Israeli government said that all the men were “of military age and had been discovered in areas that civilians were supposed to have evacuated weeks ago”.
Daniel Hagari, the spokesperson for the Israeli army, did not comment on the images directly but said that the army had detained and interrogated “hundreds of terror suspects” in northern Gaza.
The videos and photos prompted mass outrage, with rights groups calling for urgent investigations into the Israeli army’s violations against civilians.
