Muslim scholars urge retrieval of newborn 'abducted' by Israeli soldier in Gaza

By Faruk Zorlu

The International Union for Muslim Scholars (IUMS) has called on the Islamic world to reclaim a newborn allegedly taken by an Israeli soldier from Gaza.

"We call on governments and leaders in the Arab and Islamic world to take back this newborn," Ali al-Qaradaghi said on X.

"I declare that I bear the responsibility to care for this baby. Our honor is precious, and we cannot accept this humiliation," he added.

The appeal follows revelations by an Israeli soldier who disclosed that an officer took a Palestinian infant from Gaza after airstrikes likely claimed the lives of her family.

Shachar Mendelson, an associate of the soldier, told Army Radio on Sunday that Capt. Harel Itach, from the GivatiBrigade, who was killed in battles in the northern Gaza Strip on Nov. 22, took the Palestinian infant to a hospital in Israel. The whereabouts of the baby are said to be unknown since then.

Israel began its attacks on Gaza after the Oct. 7 cross-border offensive by Hamas. It has since killed nearly 22,000 people, mostly women and children, and left Gaza in ruins, where more than half of the population does not have enough food, water and medicine.