This photograph surely amounts to a war crime under the Rome Statute. It is an outrage upon human dignity, which is prohibited under the Geneva Conventions.

Two young female Israeli soldiers of Eastern European heritage, from the Israeli army, pose and smile for the camera next to a thin young man, Palestinian, blindfolded with his hands bound. The women find it funny.

One of them, identified by MEE as Nikol Stelmashvski, on the right of the young man has a distinctive tattoo on her arm, and posted the photo on her instagram as a souvenir, a “farewell album” of her completed military service.

The young man is 22 years old, Mahmoud Al Dreimli from Gaza. On Nov 2, 2024, he left his family in Gaza to search for his brother in Gaza City against his fathers express wishes, who warned him that Israeli soldiers may shoot him. They never heard from him since.

For nearly two years, his family have been searching for him. Whenever there were reports of martyrs in Al-Sarat, Khan Yunis, Rafah, or Deir [al-Balah], his father would go looking for his son there amongst the martyrs.

Then, yesterday, he and his wife and son were taken by surprise; they found a photograph in an Al Jazeera news piece and recognised him immediately. They are pleading with the International Red Cross and human rights organisations to confirm that he is being held by Israel, that he is alive, identify his whereabouts and seek his immediate release.

Note: This photo does not contain any official insignia or text, and yet anyone across the globe would instantly identify the military force to which the two women belong.