Gaza: Israel Defense Forces (IDF) soldiers allegedly tortured a one-year-old Palestinian child in front of his father with cigarette burns to force a confession from him during interrogation.
The child, identified as Jawad Abu Nassar, and his father, Osama Abu Nassar, were picked up on March 20, near Al Maghazi refugee camp in central Gaza, when armed clashes broke out.
Nasser was out to procure daily necessities and was caught in the clashes. Witnesses claimed the Israeli soldiers took the father and his child to a military checkpoint.
When civilians rushed to reach them, Israeli tanks fired at them to push them back, while ground forces forcefully took Nasser and Jawad. Their family remained in the dark about their whereabouts for hours.
It was only after the Red Cross called the IDF to collect their child 10 hours later that they were reunited with Jawad. However, the Israeli military returned Jawad alone, with no signs of Nasser.
A video on social media shows IDF soldiers carrying the child wrapped in a foil blanket returning him to a Red Cross official, stating that his vitals are “stable.”
The boy could be seen clinging to the health worker as he was carried back to the ambulance behind the border.
The soldiers reportedly extinguished cigarettes on the child’s leg, drove a nail into his leg, and inflicted injuries with sharp objects in front of his father during interrogation.
Jawad sustained severe injury marks as a result of the abuse.
Clothes bloodied upon return, hospital report claims child abuse
Jawad’s family told Al Jazeera there was blood on his clothes upon his return. When his mother checked his body for wounds, she initially thought the injuries were from fallen shrapnel.
However, when taken to the Al Aqsa Hospital, the doctors confirmed that those were “clear signs of abuse caused by cigarettes and a sharp object.”
“The wound on his leg has both an entrance and an exit, and now you can see his condition,” said Rana Abu Nassar, holding Jawad, who bore cigarette burns on various parts of his body.
The doctor’s report identified injuries on both knees from cigarette burns, along with a puncture wound likely caused by a nail, and classified it as a case of child abuse.
His father remains in Israeli detention, with the IDF known for keeping Palestinian prisoners for long periods of time without releasing them.
An American-backed ceasefire was announced on October 10, 2025. However, Israeli forces have continued violating it, killing at least 677 Palestinians and wounding 1,813 others as of March 18.
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