Jerusalem, Dec 23 (EFE).- The Israeli army detained nearly 700 suspected members of Hamas and Islamic Jihad in Gaza, of whom about 200 were taken to Israel for interrogation.
The Israeli forces said Saturday that the arrests were made over the week in the Palestinian enclave by the army and the Shin Bet, Israel’s internal security agency.
Some of them surrendered “voluntarily” and were taken to “interrogation camps” by a military intelligence unit and the internal security agency, according to an Army statement.
Earlier this month, Israel said it was looking for alleged ‘terrorists’ among those arrested during its military offensive in Gaza.
Images of several of these prisoners – half-naked and handcuffed on the ground – caused a strong controversy, with criticism from agencies such as the United Nations for undermining human dignity.
On Oct. 7, the Islamist group Hamas launched an attack on Israel that left more than 1,200 dead, and took some 240 hostages.
Israel responded by declaring war on the Islamist group and began a military offensive in Gaza that has resulted in at least 20,057 dead and 53,320 wounded, most of them civilians, according to the Gazan Ministry of Health, controlled by Hamas. EFE
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