Watan-Activists have been circulating a photo for days showing a Palestinian who was subjected to torture, with the man appearing only in underwear sitting on a chair facing a wall.
One of his legs appeared to be bleeding, but the detainee looked defiantly and disdainfully at the soldier standing in front of him brandishing his weapon, a scene reminiscent of the detainees in the American Guantanamo prison.
Hamza Abu Halima’s Brother Reveals New Details About the Striking Scene
This sparked controversy and questions about who this brave Palestinian, dubbed the “Lion of Gaza,” might be, only to find out that his name is “Hamza Abu Halima.”
In a revelation of new information about him, “Bilal Abu Halima” recounted new and intriguing details about what happened during the arrest of his brother Hamza Abu Halima, who appeared naked and shackled in front of an Israeli soldier days ago, causing a great deal of reaction on social media and earning him the nickname “Lion of Gaza.”
What Transpired Between Hamza and the Israeli Soldier
Regarding the dialogue between Hamza and the Israeli soldier in the widely circulated scene, Bilal stated that the soldier asked his brother Hamza, “Are you afraid of us?” to which he defiantly replied, “No, why should I be afraid of you?”
According to the account of the brother of the “Lion of Gaza,” the Israeli forces arrested his brother Hamza and interrogated him extensively, telling him, “If you belong to Hamas or any other organization, your fate will be execution for you and your children.”
ظهر في صورة شهيرة خلال اعتقاله من قبل الاحتلال مكبلاً وشبه عارٍ.. شقيق الشاب الفلسطيني حمزة أبو حليمة يروي لنا تفاصيل الحادثة: pic.twitter.com/jF6Tl33rAc
— AJ+ عربي (@ajplusarabi) February 16, 2024
Affected by the death of his family
According to the source, Hamza Abu Halima is now in Gaza after being released, but he is deeply affected by the death of family members and refuses to appear or provide any details about what happened during his arrest and torture.
In recent days, a widely circulated image of Hamza Abu Halima, a resident of the courageous neighborhood of Shujaiya, sitting on a chair wounded, naked, and handcuffed, defiantly challenging an Israeli soldier armed to the teeth with a mocking gaze.
The French news agency France 24 reported that the image was discovered and shared for the first time by the independent Palestinian journalist Yunus al-Tayrawi in a post on X (formerly Twitter), which garnered seven million views since the morning of February 5th.
Al-Tayrawi said he found the image on the YouTube channel of an Israeli soldier named Yossi Gamsu, adding that Gamsu shared a picture of himself “torturing a Palestinian civilian.”
The image was subsequently circulated by several pro-Palestinian accounts in multiple languages.
Many saw the defiant gaze of the man as a symbol of resistance against the Israeli army.
Gamsu, who turned out not to be the soldier depicted in the image, had previously posted another video in December showing Israeli soldiers gathering dozens of Palestinian prisoners, once again after stripping them of their clothes in a city stadium, as reported by the French newspaper Libération.
Palestinian journalist Diaa al-Khalout, who was part of a group of people detained by the Israeli army in early December, was released a month later without facing any charges or trial.
In an article published by the Spanish newspaper El País on February 7th, al-Khalout stated that he was subjected to torture and humiliation during his detention.