“I Entered Hungry and Left Hungry”: Freed Journalist Recounts Torture and Survival in Israeli Prisons

In a haunting testimony that exposes the depth of cruelty within Israeli detention centres, journalist Shadi Abu Saydu has described years of torment and starvation endured behind bars. Freed as part of the latest prisoner exchange, Abu Saydu’s words paint a picture of systematic dehumanisation , one that continued until the very moment of release.

“I’ve been hungry for two years,” he said tearfully. “I entered prison hungry, I stayed hungry, and I left hungry. They threatened to kill our children.” His voice trembled as he recounted how prisoners were beaten, humiliated, and deprived of food, sleep, and medical care. For Abu Saydu and countless others, captivity became a slow-motion form of torture, an existence defined by pain and fear.

Arrested during the Israeli raid on Al-Shifa Medical Complex in Gaza City two years ago, Abu Saydu described returning home to a landscape he could barely recognise. “It’s like the Day of Judgment,” he said. “Gaza is no longer Gaza.” His words echo the collective trauma of a population enduring a genocidal war that has erased entire neighbourhoods and fractured countless families.

Hundreds of Palestinians were released today under the latest stage of the “Flood of Freedom” prisoner exchange. Among them were men and women from Gaza, the West Bank, and Jerusalem , many held for years under the classification of “unlawful combatants,” a label used to deny them basic legal protection. Their release brought bittersweet joy across Palestine: families embraced loved ones with tears, celebrating freedom amid devastation and mourning.

Source : Safa News