A Palestinian reporter who recently emerged from months in Israeli detention has described conditions he says left him psychologically shattered, raising renewed concerns about how prisoners from Gaza and the West Bank have been treated during the ongoing genocidal war. Speaking under a pseudonym to protect his family, he recounted being taken during a military raid in Gaza while clearly identified as press, and held in several detention sites where, according to his account, mistreatment was persistent and intended to break the spirit of detainees.

He explained that prolonged isolation, intimidation, deprivation of sleep, inadequate medical care and the use of threats were routine features of imprisonment. Legal and medical specialists who later evaluated him said his symptoms were consistent with acute trauma, noting that he struggled for months after release with concentration and basic emotional stability. He described overcrowded cells, unhygienic conditions and the deaths of fellow prisoners, including academics and doctors, under circumstances he believed warranted investigation.

The journalist said the situation worsened once his interrogators learned of his profession, accusing him of spreading misinformation and warning him of a possible life sentence. He emphasised that what he experienced was not an exception but part of a broader structure in which detainees were subjected to systematic harm. Human-rights organisations have repeatedly called for independent scrutiny of such testimonies, arguing that they form a growing body of evidence suggesting that Israel’s treatment of Palestinian prisoners during the genocidal war may breach key international legal standards.