The Prisoners of Wars
Photographs as evidence; photographs as propaganda.
On December 8, 2023, after documenting clashes between Israeli soldiers and Hamas militants in Gaza, Haaretz photographer Moti Milrod happened upon a grim scene — dozens of blindfolded and bound Palestinian prisoners, packed into the back of an Israeli military vehicle.
The details are disturbing. Two women and one child can be seen among the sea of shirtless men, some bruised and bloodied, some with numbers scrawled on their backs.
“It was a a real war zone,” Milrod told me. “As the tour started it was quite calm, but then we witnessed an exchange of fire with three militants in an alley where tanks and soldiers were in position. All I could think of was taking pictures, and I must admit that it felt quite safe being alongside the Israeli soldiers.”
“I was lucky that truck of detainees broke down next to the jeep that took us back to Israel,” Milrod added.
That was unplanned. Milrod’s photo became evidence, not propaganda.
Reuters photographer Yossi Zeliger captu…