Israeli forces unleash combat dog on differently-abled Palestinian boy

Israel Defence Force's (IDF) combat dog attacked a 24-year-old Palestinian boy, Mohammed Bhar, with down syndrome and autism, during a raid on his family's home in Shejaiya.

According to BBC, the horrific incident took place on July 3.

Mohammed's mother, Nabila, witnessed the brutal attack and described the harrowing scene to the publication.

“The dog attacked him, biting his chest and then his hand. Mohammed didn’t speak, only muttering ‘No, no, no.’ The dog bit his arm and the blood was shed. I wanted to get to him but I couldn’t. No one could get to him, and he was patting the dog’s head saying, ‘enough my dear, enough.’ In the end, he relaxed his hand, and the dog started tearing at him while he was bleeding,” she recounted the incident while talking to BBC.

IDF soldiers separated Mohammed from his family, allegedly to treat his injuries, but instead, they locked him in a separate room and prohibited his family from seeing him.

The family was then forced to leave their home at gunpoint, without the differently-abled boy.

A week later, the family returned to their house and found Mohammed's lifeless body. 

His brother, Jibraeel, told the BBC that Mohammed had been left without proper medical care, and his body had been abandoned for days.

“They were trying to stop the bleeding. Then they left him without stitches or care. Just these basic first aid measures. Of course, as you can see, Muhammed was dead for a period of time already because he was abandoned. We thought he wasn't at home. But it turned out he had been bleeding and left alone at home all this time. Of course, the army left him,” Jibraeel told the BBC.

The incident has sparked widespread anger and disgust on social media, with many condemning the IDF's actions as inhumane and cruel. 

Israel continues its atrocities in Gaza as 81 more Palestinians have been killed in the past 24 hours.

The Israeli army's bombardment has targeted civilian areas, including 8 refugee schools operated by the United Nations (UN) in the last ten days.

According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, almost 38,794 Palestinians have been killed since October 7.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) reported over 1,000 attacks on healthcare facilities in the occupied Palestinian territory since October 7.

The United Nations (UN) has warned that it will take 15 years to clear the debris from Gaza, which is estimated to be hundreds of millions of tons.