By Diyar Guldogan
WASHINGTON (AA) - As the world marks International Women's Day on Friday, there is no turning away from the disturbing images and videos emerging every day from Palestine, over five months into a brutal Israeli offensive. Among them are instances of violations of the privacy and human dignity of Palestinian women.
The revelation that Israeli soldiers have posed with and showcased underwear belonging to Palestinian women on social media after raiding their homes in the Gaza Strip has sparked criticism, with Americans denouncing their actions as "disgusting."
"It is horrible. What is going on is so so so disgusting to see Israeli soldiers make … a showing of the fact that they don't care for Gazan women, they don't care for Palestinian youth and children and occupants of their birthright lands," Abby Mizan, 15, told Anadolu.
Mizan, a student, said she is "very disgusted and very alarmed" to see such behavior being normalized.
"And women are so easily being mocked publicly, with no response from other foreign nations, no response from the United States government," she added.
Another American student, Joey Katzenell, 20, told Anadolu that it is "disgusting" that the US government is supporting "genocide" in the Gaza Strip, saying it is "unbelievable" that the world just watches it.
"We've always said 'never again' after horrible genocides that have occurred throughout history, and that's exactly what we’re seeing, the evidence is right there," she said.
About the visuals on social media, Katzenell said: "It's disgusting. It’s absolutely atrocious."
- 'Denigrating and degrading' Palestinian women
Soraya Musa, 53, a Palestinian American, said the Israeli army is "denigrating and degrading" Palestinian women to "dehumanize" them.
"I would love to see our mainstream media here in America talk about this and how they are dehumanizing women, how they are using these acts. This is acts of violence, and nobody is talking about it. I have not seen the white feminists in America speak about this issue," Musa said.
She stressed that the Palestinian women are being "brutalized" due to a lack of healthcare, the killing of their children and babies, and starvation.
"All of these are war crimes," Musa added, and complained about indifference among the American public.
"These are also war crimes and I don't see the outrage in the American public. Specifically, the American feminists – are claimed to be feminists – who are not addressing the issue of what is going on to Palestinian women right now in Gaza," she said.
Speaking to Anadolu, Hannah Nelson, 23, said it is "very unfortunate" to see postings denigrating women being shared on social media.
"You know, it's very unfortunate for women in today's society to see you know, something like that, you know, men making jokes and stuff like that, you know, it's just very, very disgusting in my opinion," Nelson added.
Sarah Gorman, 27, said the social media footage is "really disrespectful" to women around the world.
"It's showing that they don't respect women and showing that they don't respect their feelings or any women in general. I would say it's just disgusting and not okay," Gorman added.
Kathleen Cody, 65, said she thinks this situation in Gaza is "terrible."
"I think they should be working closer towards some sort of peace agreement and some sort of reconciliation. It's just terrible what's going on there," she told Anadolu.
About the "derogatory" photos, Makeba Briscoe, 46, said: "I think it's horrible."
"They’re already going through a lot of adversity. Why would you add to (that)? You're over there to secure people, you're not over there to, you know, taunt people or to you know, make fun of, that's not nice. You won't want nobody to do that to you or your family," Briscoe said.
Stressing that displaying the women’s underwear is "wrong,” she said the soldiers who tried to make a public mockery of Palestinian women should be reprimanded.
At least 9,000 Palestinian women have been killed in the Gaza Strip, where the death toll from Israel's ongoing offensive has exceeded 30,700, while over 72,000 others have been injured.
The Israeli war has pushed 85% of Gaza's population into internal displacement, including about 1 million women, roughly 52,000 of whom are pregnant.
Acute shortages of food, clean water, and medicine, have meant that many have had to give birth in tents and bathrooms, while others have performed C-sections without anesthesia.
Palestinian groups estimate that thousands of Palestinians have been detained by Israeli forces in the Gaza Strip since Oct. 7, 2023.
Israel has also imposed a crippling blockade on the seaside enclave, leaving its population, particularly residents of northern Gaza, on the verge of starvation.
Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice. An interim ruling in January ordered Tel Aviv to stop genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.