In one of the chambers at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, Mahmoud Zindah stands close to his father, Nader, their faces reflecting the trauma of the past week.
The 14-year-old and his father were part of the hundreds of Palestinians apprehended by Israeli forces on December 5 in the Shujayea area, east of Gaza City. They endured five days of torment and humiliation before being released without explanation.
Mahmoud recounts a chilling encounter during their detention, where a soldier mentioned his resemblance to his nephew, who had been killed in front of his grandmother taken hostage by Hamas.
The soldier threatened that they would all be slaughtered. The Zindah family had been trapped in their home in the Zeitoun neighborhood of Gaza City for two days before their ordeal began. Tanks advanced, and artillery shelling intensified, making it perilous to leave.
After sleeping on the cold tile floor under mattresses for protection, the family woke up on the third day to find tanks on their street. Nader went to a nearby house, only to witness an Israeli bulldozer demolishing it, with soldiers firing live ammunition. In an attempt to communicate their presence, Nader and his family displayed makeshift white flags. Although the shooting stopped, Israeli soldiers entered the home, confiscated belongings, and segregated the household—women and young children in one room, men and teenage boys in another.
The soldiers then compelled Nader, Mahmoud, his brother-in-law, and another male relative to undress before pushing them outside. The ordeal underscores the harrowing experiences faced by Palestinian civilians in the midst of conflict.
