Israeli underwear line ‘inspired’ by soldiers injured in Gaza sparks outrage

An Israeli company has launched an underwear collection “inspired” by soldiers who were injured during the country’s ongoing attack on the Gaza Strip, sparking outrage among social media users, highlighting the record number of child amputees in the enclave as a result of war.

Apparel brand Delta this week introduced a collection of “adaptive” women’s underwear designed to be easy to wear for people with limited mobility or movement, Haaretz reported. Its advertising campaign features models with disabilities, including former soldier Rotem Sdot, who was an amputee three years earlier.

While the campaign was praised as “empowering” by many Israeli social media users, hundreds of others expressed anger and disbelief at what they called the “tone-deaf” messages behind the ads.

Many have drawn attention to the growing number of people seriously injured as a result of Israel’s war in Gaza.

“There are about 1,000 times more civilian amputees in Gaza than in Israel and that is thanks to the IDF (Israeli army). Barf,” commented one user on X, formerly known as Twitter.

“It takes a really special culture to mutilate the physical and moral integrity of its young people, turning them into instruments of genocide, and then launch a ridiculous line of underwear ‘inspired’ by their wounds,” replied another.

“I wonder if the Israeli fashion company could launch a line of pajamas for Gazan amputee children,” one user wrote alongside a photo of a Palestinian child amputee.

I wonder if the Israeli fashion company could launch a line of pajamas for amputees from Gaza🤔 pic.twitter.com/yP5MrdF2lN

-FRED ENGELS (@FREDDYENGELS) October 14, 2024

In January, Save the Children estimated that 10 children lose one or both legs every day in the besieged enclave.

“Gaza is home to the largest group of child amputees in modern history,” a senior UN official told the UN Security Council last week.

“We cannot plead ignorance about what is happening – nor can we afford to look away.”

Some social media users have also highlighted photos and videos of Israeli soldiers in Gaza searching, displaying and wearing Palestinian women’s lingerie, which have been shared regularly and widely by troops since the start of the war.

“I wonder how women feel when their comrades pose in Palestinian women’s underwear,” one user wrote.

Zionists created the largest group of child amputees in human history.

In human history. https://t.co/DMYIBloaj7

-Jo Kaur (@SikhFeminist) October 15, 2024

Another gave a sarcastic response, indicating that the company’s next collection would feature the same soldiers showing off women’s lingerie in Gaza.

Are they also planning to launch a lingerie line inspired by the so-called genocidal soldiers who wear lingerie in Gaza?

– Hanife Öz (@HanifeOz_) October 14, 2024

At least 4,881 Israeli soldiers have been injured since the start of the war, according to data published by the Israeli army, while the Ministry of Defense estimated the number at more than 10,000 in August.

Meanwhile, more than 98,117 Palestinians have been injured in Gaza since the start of the war, according to the Gaza Ministry of Health.

More than 22,500 people in Gaza have suffered life-changing injuries such as amputations, spinal cord injuries, traumatic brain injuries and severe burns, the World Health Organization said last month.