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

An Israeli company has launched an underwear collection “inspired” by soldiers wounded during the country’s ongoing assault on the Gaza Strip. This sparked anger among social media users, who pointed to a record number of child amputees in the enclave as a result of the war.

Clothing brand Delta this week unveiled a collection of “adaptive” women’s underwear designed for people with limited mobility or range of motion, Haaretz reported. The advertising campaign features models with disabilities, including former soldier Rotem Sdot, who was amputated 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 drew attention to the increasing number of seriously injured people as a result of Israel’s war on Gaza.

“There are about a thousand times more civilian amputees in Gaza than in Israel, and that is thanks to the IDF [Israeli army]. Puke,” commented one user on X, formerly known as Twitter.

“It takes a truly special culture to mutilate both the physical and moral integrity of its young, turning them into instruments of genocide and then launching an absurd line of underwear ‘inspired’ by their wounds,” replied another.

“I wonder if the Israeli fashion company might launch a pajama line for amputee children from Gaza,” one user wrote alongside a picture of a Palestinian child who has had amputations.

I wonder if the Israeli fashion company might launch a pajama line for amputee children in Gaza🤔 pic.twitter.com/yP5MrdF2lN

— FRED ENGELS (@FREDDYENGELS) October 14, 2024

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

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

“We cannot claim that we are unaware of what is happening, nor can we afford to look the other way.”

Some social media users have also highlighted images and videos of Israeli soldiers in Gaza rummaging through, displaying and wearing Palestinian women’s underwear, which has been regularly and widely shared by troops since the war began.

“I wonder what the women think of their male comrades posing in Palestinian women’s underwear,” one user wrote.

Zionists have created the largest cohort of child amputees in human history.

In the history of humanity.

– Jo Kaur (@SikhFeminist) October 15, 2024

Another gave a sarcastic response, suggesting that the company’s next collection would feature the same soldiers who paraded women’s underwear in Gaza.

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

— Hanife Öz (@HanifeOz_) October 14, 2024

According to the Israeli army, at least 4,881 Israeli soldiers have been wounded since the start of the war; the Defense Ministry put the number at over 10,000 in August.

Meanwhile, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, over 98,117 Palestinians have been injured in Gaza since the war began.

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