This article discusses how the control of satellite data affects information freedom and openness in the context of international conflicts and digital dominance.
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The article examines in detail the methods and tools used to identify and confirm information about detainees, analyzing key aspects of the use of OSINT to protect human rights. It also discusses the challenges researchers face in validating data in such complex environments and provides examples of successful open source investigations.
When the photo, which shows hundreds of detained Palestinians, first appeared online, it sparked a barrage of criticism. The image went viral on the X platform, garnering over a million views. This has given rise to extensive analysis and discussion. Many people were quick to compare the photo to footage of execution sites from World War II, showing alongside it old gray images of those horrific events. This caused a wave of disbelief and suspicion, with many users declaring the image a fake.
However, a thorough forensic examination indicates that the probability that the photo is fake is extremely low. While questions remain about the context and details, there is a strong possibility that the image is genuine. It was probably taken between December 10 and 12, 2023, in northern Gaza, near two hospitals, one of which was captured during the assault. The detention took place on December 12 by the forces of the IDF. The photo also shows a doctor who worked in another hospital and was among the detainees.
One pro-Palestinian account posted this image with the caption: “extermination camp.” After that, the distribution of the photo was accompanied by an avalanche of misinformation and propaganda. Russian accounts such as RT Arab and others who used the image as a misleading meme joined the process.
Even those who are usually more trusting expressed their doubts when #OSINT colleagues reposted the image asking for help verifying it. Many noted that “… the foreground looks like it was photoshopped, but it could just be the play of light,” as one user wrote.
The light panel held by the soldier raised many questions: “literally controlling the light panel like in a photo studio.” It is impossible not to pay attention to how the lighting changes the colors, which makes the image look somewhat unusual. However, the more interesting question is whether there is any need at all to use light in such a context when dealing with prisoners of war. Are they really being photographed? This remains unclear, and with it a number of additional problems and doubts arise.
If these are prisoners of war and they are being photographed, then a violation of the Geneva Conventions may cause concern.
The convention sets out rules for the treatment of soldiers and civilians during war, but does not specifically mention film or photographs. However, according to the International Red Cross, Article 13 of the Convention provides that prisoners of war must be “protected, especially against acts of violence, intimidation, and insults and public curiosity.” This rule can be interpreted as including a ban on photographing prisoners of war to avoid their humiliation or use for propaganda purposes.
Among the first appearances of the photo was on the media page of Channel 12 NEWS, as well as on the Telegram channel (at 10:33 p.m. on December 12).
Journalist Nir Dvori on N12 reported on mass detentions of prisoners.Unfortunately, he did not provide any evidence or ordering details in his report. Dvori is a security and military correspondent who is reportedly traveling with the Israel Defense Forces to witness the crackdown on Hamas firsthand.
We reached out to Dvori on X to publicly ask if he could confirm where and under what circumstances the photo was taken, as well as why he posted it on his website. There was no answer.
Aric Toler, who used to work at Bellingcat and now joins the New York Times, pointed out that many of those believed to be prisoners are actually wearing black shirts. However, upon closer analysis, it can be seen that these are not only black, but also blue shirts, as well as some jackets. Some detainees wear clothes with collars, others without.
It is not clear why the people in the foreground are not wearing black clothes. Similar blue overalls can be seen in old photos from the Getty archives. The shirt of the 10-year-old Palestinian boy who was detained in Hebron in 2021 was also black. Detainees are usually stripped to avoid the possibility of hiding explosives, and their clothes are not returned immediately. Perhaps the black clothing was given to them by the IDF.
AA online media reported on December 11 that Israeli forces detained 142 Palestinian women and children during a ground offensive in the Gaza Strip, citing figures from the Palestinian Prisoners’ Society and the Palestinian Authority’s Commission on Detainees and Ex-Prisoners. Human rights NGOs in Gaza believe that there may be 900 detainees.
Two cases of people wearing Nike sweaters are also easy to spot. One wears an orange blindfold or bandeau.
Prisoners are usually handcuffed. Analysis of the images shows that some, if not most, of them were tied behind their backs. This is especially noticeable for the person on the left, who appears to either have his hands behind his back, or they are indeed tied, as evidenced by his body position.
According to several experts, including Times of Israel military correspondent Emmanuel Fabian, there have been concerns about the treatment of detainees in recent days. The treatment of prisoners in the northern part of Gaza, Jabalia, drew particular criticism.
It is probably difficult to determine exactly how many alleged prisoners were held at the site. Judging only by what we see in the image, there are at least 320 heads to count.
There are automatic ways to do this counting (eg plugger, DotDotGoose or Crowd People Counter). However, the risk of making a mistake was too high due to the low resolution of the image. The obvious solution was to split the screen into several panels and start counting manually. The image also shows at least 18 soldiers in the background and one more in the foreground controlling the panel lighting, making a total of 19 soldiers.
The insult would not have attracted such attention if it were not for the harsh accusations that an innocent medic was among those detained.
The first such concern about this image came from an account called Mustafa A. In this post, dated December 13 at 5 a.m., he explained what he believed to be a doctor named Khalid H. (خالد حمودة) among the prisoners in the first row is the second person from the left.
Whether this person is really Dr. Khalid H. will only be known with 100% certainty once he is found and his arrest is officially confirmed. However, there is a lot of evidence in favor of the fact that the doctor was among the prisoners of the IDF. Although the resolution of the image is low, it shows a person whose height, shape and build match the photos of Dr. Khalid H.
It is also noticeable that the hairline, which has a slight curve, matches the images on his Facebook page. The signature pose where the left leg is slightly bent inwards can also be a confirmation as it can be seen in his public photos on social media.
So it’s no surprise that several people recognized him in the photo that went viral. Mustafa A. also recalled the image when the doctor received congratulations from his colleagues upon the end of his surgical residency.
There is also a second source, Mohammad Jouda, who knows the doctor and now lives in Germany. Jouda named Khaled H.’s Facebook account and wrote that “they arrested Khaled in the hospital (where he was) and then stopped him like that in front of them to face his weakness.”
Khalid was Jouda’s “best friend,” as he claims (however, Jouda is not among Khaled Hamouda’s Facebook friends). Jouda also confirmed the tragic circumstances of X’s family, many of whom were killed just two weeks ago. Also, Mustafa A. said that “he (Khaled Hamuda) recently lost almost his entire family, including his wife, daughter.”
The geolocation of the image was determined on December 15 thanks to user X under the nickname fdov21. This was difficult to confirm at first, as three white roofs were visible in northern Gaza on old satellite images from 2022. However, when it became clear that these white roofs were no longer visible in the last pictures, everything fell into place.
The open access Sentinel 2 satellite images obtained through the Sentinel Browser played an important role in this. On the pictures from December 1 and 6, white roofs can be seen in the indicated area. However, in the pictures from December 10 and 11, these roofs suddenly disappeared from the yard.
Open-source satellite images from December 1 and 6, 2023 still show the white roof on the publicly available high-resolution 2022 images in Google Earth Pro. By December 11, the white spot had disappeared.
In addition, New York Times reporter Arik Toler shared pictures from the Planet satellite from December 10, which again show the area without the white panels. However, the mounds that can be seen in the photo have not yet been excavated. This allows us to narrow down the possible time of the image capture to the period between December 10 and 12.
There is a Facebook post by another Hamoud family member, Mohammed Magdey Hamoud, who also includes photos of Khaled in his library. In this post, made on December 5, he reports that a bomb hit the family home, which was actually functioning as “H. Medical Center”. The explosion killed several people, including his uncles, cousin, children and other relatives. Dr. Khaled H. is also among the victims. If this information is confirmed, it could mean that Khaled was probably rounded up and detained after this event.
It remains unclear whether the detention is related to the December 12 incident, when the IDF announced a successful assault on the Kamal Advan hospital and the evacuation of prisoners. This hospital is located close to the one where Khaled H. used to work, raising further questions about the possible connection between these events (IsraelPalestine Livemap location, 31º 32′ 17.4” N 34º 30′ 05.4” E ).
Several images and videos have also been released showing those detained during the December 12 incident. These materials show how prisoners, mostly in black clothes, walk down the street under a convoy.
Captured Image ( link ) – 70 Hamas fighters reportedly surrendered to Israeli forces in the area.
In recent days, there have been a number of unconfirmed reports that friends, relatives, doctors, nurses or journalists are among those detained. They would have no connection to the terrorist group Hamas. One video shows a journalist named Zia alkahLot among a group of prisoners. The place where he was spotted was geolocated.
An account by Dr. Eli David, a researcher from the US, on X claims to have spotted two UNRWA and UN staff among the detainees. Both, Darwish Gharbawi and Ahmed Akram Lubad, were among those cited by human rights group EuroMed as detained civilians. Garbavi later told the Washington Post that he nearly passed out from dehydration when he was arrested.
There is also Rami Abdo, economic analyst and assistant. A professor of law and finance (who was also interviewed by Aljazeera in 2019 about the Gaza gas deal), Abdo is also the head of the human rights group @EuroMedHR. He claims on X that “Israeli soldiers are stripping and arresting hundreds of civilians and executing dozens of people in the Jabalia refugee camp while cutting communication lines.”
In the image below (source), he and others recognized “…a doctor (Khaled X), a nurse, two teachers and a baker,” as he says. Abdo also directly commented on the images of the prisoners, noting that there were civilians among them.
Based on the testimony, Euro-Med, a human rights NGO in Gaza, suggests that Israel will hold most of the detainees at the Zikim military base north of the enclave. So far, this has not been independently verified.
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