As fighting rages around the city of Khan Yunis and in the northern Gaza Strip, a video has surfaced on social media showing Israel detaining dozens of Palestinians.

Footage seen by the BBC shows them stripped down to their underwear, kneeling on the ground, guarded by Israeli soldiers.

The men are believed to have been arrested in Beit Lahia, in the far north of the Gaza Strip.

The BBC was told that some of the men had been released.

One of those detained is a prominent Palestinian journalist, prompting his employers to accuse Israel of “invasive searches and humiliating treatment” of civilians.

Asked about the video, an Israeli government spokesman told the BBC that all the men detained were of conscription age and were “found in areas from which the civilian population had to be evacuated weeks ago”.

Israeli government spokesman Mark Regev defended the actions:

“We are looking for those responsible for the October 7 massacre, and if we gather people to find out who is responsible, whose name and face match the photos of people beheading people or raping women, etc., we will do it.

And if you say ‘some of them are UN workers,’ the fact that they work for the UN organization does not mean that they are not members of Hamas.”

“More and more Palestinians are surrendering”

Israeli military spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said the military is seeing more and more Hamas fighters surrendering to forces during the fighting in the Gaza Strip.

“Our forces operate simultaneously in the center of gravity of Hamas in the south and in the north of the Gaza Strip, in Jabalia, Shejaya and the Khan Younis area,” he says.

“We are waging fierce battles with Hamas terrorists who are hiding underground. We are killing many terrorists and we are seeing more and more terrorists surrendering in battle,” Hagari says.

According to him, over the past 48 hours, Israeli soldiers have arrested more than 200 suspects in the Gaza Strip.

“Dozens of them were handed over for questioning by the Israeli Shin Bet and the 504 Unit of the Directorate of Military Intelligence, including Hamas commanders and Nuhba operatives,” says Hagari.