Israeli soldiers tortured a 1-year-old child in central Gaza to pressure his father into confessing during an interrogation, Palestine TV reported Sunday, citing Palestinian journalist Osama al-Kahlout.
It aired footage showing injuries to the child, identified as Karim, after he was detained by Israeli forces near the al-Maghazi refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip.
Witnesses said the child’s father, Osama Abu Nassar, was traumatized after the death of a horse he used for income. While taking his child to buy supplies, he was caught up in gunfire near his home and was forced by Israeli soldiers to leave his 18-month-old son on the ground and approach a nearby military checkpoint, where he was stripped and interrogated.
The forces tortured the child in front of his father, including burning one of his legs with cigarettes, pricking him and inserting a nail into his leg, as confirmed by a medical report.
The report said the child suffered burn marks from cigarettes and puncture wounds in his leg caused by the nail.
The child was released about 10 hours later and handed over to his family through the International Committee of the Red Cross in al-Maghazi, but the father remains in Israeli detention.
The family has appealed to international organizations to intervene to secure the father’s release so he can continue receiving medical treatment.
At least 677 Palestinians have been killed and 1,813 injured in Israeli attacks across the Gaza Strip since a cease-fire agreement between Israel and Hamas was implemented in October 2025, the Health Ministry said.
The cease-fire halted Israel’s two-year genocidal war that has killed more than 72,200 Palestinians and injured over 171,000 since October 2023, along with widespread destruction of about 90% of civilian infrastructure.
