Israeli soldiers forced Palestinian men to take off their clothes as they evacuated war-torn Jabalya

(CNN) — The photo shows a large crowd of more than 200 people, crouching low amid the rubble of Jabalya in northern Gaza. Mostly men, many are almost naked, some are elderly, some visibly wounded. There’s at least one child among them.

They were detained and most ordered to strip by the Israeli military as they tried to flee their homes in Jabalya refugee camp, then held for hours outdoors in the cold, witnesses told CNN.

Their tired faces give a glimpse into their misery. The men at the front are anxiously staring straight ahead, while those toward the back stretch their necks to see what is going on.

The photo, taken in Jabalya on Friday, shows residents of the refugee camp who tried to leave the area after being forced by the Israeli military to evacuate amid its ongoing ground operation there.

The photo was first shared on an Israeli Telegram channel; while it is unclear who took it, several of the men in the picture told CNN Israeli soldiers were photographing them as they were being detained.

CNN has identified and spoken to five individuals seen in the photograph. One of them, Muhannad Khalaf, said he, his wife and their infant son were trying to escape the camp using a designated safe corridor when the Israeli military stopped them.

“We were all gathered in one place – men, women, children, and the elderly. This was at 11 a.m. After five hours, at 4 p.m., they asked the women and children to move forward and carry all (of our) bags and belongings,” he told CNN over the phone, adding the women and children were allowed to leave.

“Once they left, the men were instructed to remove their clothes and stay in just their underwear. We complied. We sat in the cold for several more hours and the weather was frigid. They were insulting us during that time, calling us names, laughing and taking pictures,” the 27-year old told CNN.

According to Khalaf, the men in the crowd seen in the photograph were asked to come forward five at a time, to be screened by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) before being allowed to proceed to Gaza City, which has been designated by the Israeli military as a safe place.

“Some individuals were selected for detention while others were released. Most of us ended up in Gaza City. The situation was terrifying and deeply saddening as we witnessed elderly men and injured individuals in distress, with no one showing them compassion or mercy.”

The little girl seen in the photograph is Jouri Abu Ward. The three-and-a-half-year-old was riding her bike, trying to get to Gaza City, when she and her father were detained at the checkpoint.

Jouri’s father Mohamad Abu Ward told CNN he was forced to strip to his underwear and was held for eight hours alongside Jouri. He said the girl was not required to remove her clothes but was unable to leave the area because she was alone with him. No food or water available to them. His wife and other children left the area earlier in the morning and were able to make it to Gaza City, he said.

Repeated strip-searches in Gaza

The IDF encircled Jabalya and launched a new ground operation there more than three weeks ago, cutting off most supplies and forcing people to leave amid heavy fighting. The IDF said it saw signs of Hamas rebuilding in the area, despite a year of heavy bombardment and two previous ground operations which the IDF had claimed were successful.

In recent weeks, the Israeli military has issued repeated evacuation orders for Northern Gaza, including dropping flyers over Jabalya warning residents to “evacuate immediately.” Several Palestinians previously told CNN that they had been shot at as they tried to follow the evacuation orders.

While the Israeli military refused to comment on the situation captured in the photograph, it admitted it has been routinely detaining and strip-searching people as part of its combat operations in Gaza. It did not comment on CNN’s question about the elderly and wounded people, as well as the child, seen in the photograph.

“Individuals suspected of involvement in terrorist activity are being detained and questioned,” the IDF told CNN in a statement. It said that the detainees are treated in accordance with international law, but also told CNN that it “is often necessary for terror suspects to hand over their clothes so that their clothes can be searched and to ensure that they are not concealing explosive vests or other weaponry.”

Due to security protocol, “clothes are not immediately returned to the detainees,” the IDF statement continued, adding that the clothes are returned as soon as it is “possible to do so”

The Geneva Conventions, a set of international laws that set out the rules of armed conflict, says that any detainees must be treated humanely. The rules explicitly prohibit acts that “outrage upon personal dignity, in particular humiliating and degrading treatment.”

The International Red Cross says that intrusive searches, including strip searches of detainees “should be undertaken only if absolutely necessary” and not in front of other detainees.

The United Nations and other human rights organizations have criticized Israel’s military for detaining and stripping people during its military campaign in Gaza, accusing it of weaponizing the practice.

The UN’s Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory and Israel said last month that it found that “forced nudity, with the aim of degrading and humiliating victims in front of both soldiers and other detainees, was frequently used against male victims.”

Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International also condemned Israel for what they said was a widespread practice.

In a July 2024 report about Israel’s treatment of detainees and prisoners, Amnesty International said that public forced nudity for long durations violates the prohibition of torture and other ill-treatment and amounts to sexual violence.

Human Rights Watch has also accused the Israeli government of allowing these kinds of practices. “Israeli authorities have for months turned a blind eye as members of their military published dehumanizing fully or seminude images and videos of Palestinians in their custody,” said Balkees Jarrah, acting Middle East director at Human Rights Watch.

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CNN’s Kareem Khadder contributed reporting.