Advocacy groups have released harrowing accounts from Palestinian detainees in Israeli prisons, describing systematic torture, starvation, and medical neglect. Prisoners have reported severe beatings, scalding with boiling water, and exposure to freezing temperatures in torn tents. Accounts also include psychological abuse and degrading treatment, such as soldiers pouring wastewater and urine over detainees.
Medical neglect is rife, with detainees suffering from untreated conditions including scabies, chronic illnesses, and severe injuries. One prisoner lost an artificial eye due to repeated assaults, while another with cancer has been denied essential treatment. Food is so scarce that prisoners are forced to ration meagre portions, while basic items such as salt and sugar are withheld.
Detainees spoke of the anguish of losing loved ones during the ongoing war, learning of their deaths while imprisoned. Enforced disappearances add to the trauma, as Israeli authorities refuse to disclose the whereabouts of thousands of detainees, including children. Advocacy organisations estimate that 1,882 Palestinians, including four women and dozens of minors, are currently detained in brutal conditions.
The testimonies expose unprecedented levels of brutality, including the use of detainees as human shields and incidents of sexual violence. Since October 2023, at least 35 detainees from Gaza have died in custody due to field executions, fatal neglect, and other abuses. The Israeli authorities’ refusal to release further details intensifies the suffering of detainees and their families.
Calls for international action are growing, with human rights organisations demanding accountability for these gross violations. The systematic dehumanisation and abuse of Gaza’s prisoners require urgent global intervention to protect their rights and lives.
Source : Safa News
