DayofPal– Several Palestinian detainees from Gaza have provided distressing accounts of the systematic torture and abuses they endured while imprisoned in Israel’s Naqab prison.
After visiting the facility, the Palestinian Prisoner’s Society (PPS) and the Palestinian Authority’s Commission of Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs reported these testimonies, which highlight the severe violence and dehumanizing treatment experienced by detainees from Gaza.
This visit was paid two days before detainee Ashraf Abu Warda died in the Israeli custody, according to the two groups.
The groups confirmed that the following detainees’ testimonies are merely a part of a larger set of accounts from other detainees, which reflect the harsh scale of violent abuse by Israeli prison guards.
A detainee identified by the initials MR shared his harrowing ordeal of enduring relentless torture since his arrest in Sheikh Zayed city in March 2024.
He described being shackled, blindfolded, and immobilized for days, during which he faced physical assaults and was coerced into signing a fabricated confession.
MR, like many others, suffered from severe itching and rashes caused by scabies, an ongoing affliction that continues to plague prisoners in Israeli detention facilities, depriving them of sleep and worsening their suffering.
Another detainee, identified as MH, recounted his torment after being arrested at Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza. He described the degrading treatment he endured, including being drenched in sewage and urine, left shackled, blindfolded, and forced to kneel for hours. To him, life in Naqab prison was nothing short of “a living death.”
Similarly, HR, another detainee later transferred to Naqab, revealed the horrifying ordeal of hot water torture. The physical scars of their suffering were unmistakable.
Every detainee who shared their story bore bodies covered in sores and boils, the painful result of scabies infections that further compounded their agony behind bars.
Another testimony shared by the detainee AN. He said: “Death is more merciful than what we are living in prison. Even today, despite the arrival of winter, the prisoners are still wearing their summer clothes.”
He added: “We suffer from extreme cold, hunger, and diseases without exception, particularly due to the spread of scabies. I have also contracted other diseases due to the harsh prison conditions.”
The detainee JS mentioned: “I have been suffering from scabies for several months, and boils cover my body. Today, I can hardly stand or walk easily. I also suffer from other health problems, and my condition has worsened due to the torture and brutal beatings. I now bleed because of what I have been subjected to.”
Detainee SA reported: “The Israeli prison administration deliberately removes the mattresses every morning and returns them in the evening, despite the harsh cold. Sometimes, they intentionally punish us by delaying the return of the mattresses until midnight.” Other detainees who were visited also mentioned this.
Since the onset of the war, the PPS has reported an overwhelming wave of arrests, with approximately 14,300 Palestinians detained—a figure that excludes the untold thousands apprehended in Gaza.
Among these, more than 10,000 administrative detention orders have been issued, encompassing new detentions and renewals alike, children and women have not been spared.
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