GAZA, (Palestine Foundation Information Center), In a deeply distressing humanitarian incident, a Palestinian toddler under the age of two was tortured recently by Israeli army officers to pressure his father during an interrogation session in the Gaza Strip.
The incident centers on Osama Abu Nassar, a young married man who was suffering severe psychological distress after the recent death of the horse he had relied on to support his family.
Two days ago, Abu Nassar went out with his child to buy some needs, but suddenly found himself caught in heavy gunfire from Israeli forces, as his home is located near the eastern border of the al‑Maghazi area in central Gaza.
According to consistent accounts from residents who witnessed the incident, an Israeli army quadcopter forced him to leave his child on the ground and advance towards a military checkpoint, where he was stripped of his clothes.
Testimonies affirm that Israeli soldiers detained the toddler while subjecting his father to interrogation at the checkpoint. They then began exerting pressure on Abu Nassar by harming his child in front of him, with the aim of extracting certain confessions.
According to the testimony of the child’s mother, as shown in a circulated video, the soldiers subjected her two-year son “Karim” to different forms of abuse, including putting out cigarettes on his body, pricking him, and inserting a nail into his leg.
The mother said the signs of torture on her child’s body were confirmed by a medical report.
The Israeli occupation forces released the child after about 10 hours of detention, transferring him to his family through the International Committee of the Red Cross in al‑Maghazi market. However, his father remains under arrest.
