Gaza grandad alleges one-year-old boy 'tortured' by Israeli army after being detained alongside his dad

Gaza grandfather Mohammed Hosni Abu Nassar made shocking allegations that his eighteen-month-old grandson had been 'tortured' by the Israeli army - after being detained alongside his dad at a checkpoint.

Footage shows young Jawad sitting on his grandfather's lap, with marks on his legs, after being released via the Red Cross. His father Osama remains in Israeli custody.

Nassar explained how Osama had taken Jawad to get groceries: "It seems that as he was leaving, he got confused with the direction; instead of going west, he went east toward the nearby yellow line. People called us and said that your son Osama, with his son Jawad on his shoulders, was heading east toward the yellow line."

The grandfather went on to say that he'd been told there was 'heavy fire' before the two were detained - with the father forced to remove his clothes. He said that the Red Cross had contacted him later that same evening.

"The child was wrapped in foil-like paper… I asked her, 'Why is the child wrapped like this? What happened?' She said, 'Just because it’s cold.' I was not convinced and said, 'Why didn’t you put a blanket or something else on him?' I uncovered the child, I found blood on his pants," he said.

He said the Red Cross had told him the blood had been from an injury to his father - but that "when we got back, the child screamed in his mother’s arms, as if he had been shocked by electricity. They uncovered him and found signs of beatings, and his foot was wrapped."

Nassar also showed what he said was a medical report from the local hospital, where they had taken the youngster for examination.

"They confirmed that the marks on the child are signs of torture, not regular injuries. They said these were not caused by shrapnel or ordinary wounds, but by a sharp object being inserted and removed from the sole of the foot. There were also cigarette burn marks on the inside of the knee, and on the other leg there were puncture marks from a sharp instrument," he alleged.

Other Palestinian media reports of the case suggested the child had been 'tortured' in front of his father to extract a confession.

The Israeli army was approached for comment. It stated that: "the claims that the IDF abused a toddler are completely unfounded and serve Hamas propaganda. On the contrary: the toddler was brought by a Hamas operative into a dangerous area to be used as a human shield."

"Once transferred to IDF troops, the child received care and was under the full supervision of an IDF physician and additional troops until handed over to the Red Cross at the earliest opportunity. The troops acted to ensure the toddler’s safety and provided the necessary medical attention," the statement went on.

Of the injuries, the IDF said that it had using 'warning fire' in the situation.

"It should be emphasised that the fire was not aimed to harm, but intended to compel the suspect to stop and move away. It is likely that splinters resulting from the fire caused minor injuries to bo