Infant Jawad Abu Nasser suffered physical and psychological injuries after being detained by Israeli forces near the Maghazi refugee camp, according to his family and witnesses. (Image: Ramzi Abu Amer/APImages/Shutterstock)
A baby in Gaza has been returned to his family with burn wounds to his legs after allegedly being captured by Israeli forces, as conflicting accounts emerge over what happened during his 10-hour separation. Jawad Abu Nasser, who was only one year and nine months old, was with his father when he was detained in central Gaza.
Later he returned alone to his mother. According to a report by Sky News correspondent John Sparks, the child was examined after his return, with injuries that raised serious concerns among medical staff. Jawad’s mother, Waad Al Shafi, was shocked when she saw his condition. “When I pulled down his pants, I saw his legs. That’s where the entry and exit wounds were.” She said: “It looks like they used metal tools to pierce her, and they put cigarettes on her little feet. We only realized it the next day.” Medical observations noted “marks of similar size, in the same locations, on both legs”, with the report stating that they were “marks of torture, caused, in whole or in part, by burnt cigarettes.”
The Israel Defense Forces strongly denied the allegations of abuse and said in a statement that the claims were “completely baseless”.
The IDF said that Jawad’s father had been captured and “admitted to being a member of Hamas”, further alleging that he had used his son as a human shield.
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The child showed a medical report of injuries related to the attack while in custody (Image: Ramzi Abu Amer/APImages/Shutterstock)
Dr. Bisan Ahmed, who examined Jawad, gave a detailed clinical assessment.
“I observed multiple deep, uniform wounds on her lower body, which are clinically consistent with intentional cigarette burns as a form of physical torture.”
He added, “These are deep second-degree burns that can reach nerves.”
The incident began a week ago when Jawad’s father Osama took him to a market before Eid.
Neighbors said he accidentally drove towards the area known locally as the “Yellow Line” – the border separating parts of Gaza under Israeli control.
As the pair approached, Israeli soldiers opened fire and ordered the father to put the child down, witnesses said.
The child’s grandfather, Mohammed Abu Nasr, picked up his blood-stained trousers. (Image: Ramzi Abu Amer/APImages/Shutterstock)
Jawad’s grandfather, Mohammed Abu Nasser, said: “So I was ordered to put the child down, and he did. He kept walking, leaving about 100 meters of distance between them.”
He added, “No father would do this, not even a few steps away. It is unimaginable. Your child will try to come back to you.”
Family members suggested that Osama was in shock after losing his home and a child during his wife’s pregnancy.
“Osama was not behaving normally,” he said. “It seemed like he was unaware of what he was doing.”
Handwritten medical report documenting the injuries sustained by Jawad Abu Nasr (Image: Ramzi Abu Amer/APImages/Shutterstock)
According to the Israeli account, the child was safely transferred to the Red Cross, with footage released showing a soldier saying: “His body parts are stable. He is walking and talking, and he is happy.”
The Army acknowledged firing near the pair but said it was aimed at taking them away from the border area. This revealed that the boy’s injuries may have been caused by debris.
“The bullets are likely to cause shrapnel”, he said, resulting in minor injuries.
Jawad’s father is missing since the incident.
For now, the child is back with his family — but, according to reports, he’s “too nervous to leave the front door.”
