DayofPal— Al Jazeera published a documentary “Bodies of Evidence: Israel’s Darkest Weapon”, presenting testimonies from former Palestinian detainees who experienced widespread sexual violence, torture, and degrading treatment in Israeli detention facilities following the Gaza war.
The sexual abuse of Palestinians in Israeli prisons are not new; they date back decades. But launching its genocidal war on Gaza, Israel appears to have increased the use of rape as a weapon of war, according to the Al Jazeera investigation and various reports by the UN and leading rights groups.
A UN report published in March 2025 found evidence of the “systematic” use of sexual, reproductive and other forms of gender-based violence by Israel since October 7, 2023.
In May, Israel was added to the UN “blacklist of sexual violence in conflict zones”.
Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, Israeli rights group B’Tselem and the PCHR have described the pervasive culture of sexual violence within Israeli forces, especially among those charged with overseeing Palestinian prisoners.
Many were arrested and held without charge under Israel’s system of administrative detention.
The film argues that these acts are part of a systematic pattern rather than isolated incidents, and cites human rights organizations and UN officials who describe similar concerns.
The report adds that sexual violence has been used as a method of punishment and interrogation with abuse sometimes filmed or carried out in group. The guard dogs were used in some cases of sexual assault
Multiple former prisoners are quoted describing severe abuse during detention, including: Beatings, blindfolding, and prolonged restraint, humiliation, forced nudity, and psychological abuse, sexual violence, including rape and forced sexual acts, in addition to the use of guard dogs during assaults.
Two main detainees are highlighted under pseudonyms or partial identification: Mohammed Zaki Al-Bakri and “Job” (pseudonym).
Mohammed Zaki Al-Bakri, a civil servant from the Gaza Strip, said that he was arrested by Israeli soldiers in March 2024 and endured weeks of beatings, torture, humiliation, and detention before experiencing sexual abuse while in custody.
Recalling an incident during Eid Al-Fitr on April 10, 2024, he said soldiers and military dogs surrounded him and other detainees, who were stripped, blindfolded, and handcuffed.
Al-Bakri stated that guards mocked prisoners, forced them to use degrading language about themselves, and then subjected them to sexual abuse while filming and laughing.
He said detainees cried out for help as soldiers directed dogs to attack them during the assault, which he estimated lasted between 20 and 30 minutes before they were ordered to dress and returned to prison.
Al-Bakri further said that Israeli authorities stripped detainees of their identities, assigning them numbers instead of names and beating them if they attempted to identify themselves otherwise.
According to his testimony, prisoners were told they were “prisoners of war” and blamed for the destruction caused by the Al-Aqsa Flood Operation.
He described harsh detention conditions in which detainees were forced to sleep on their stomachs with their hands bound and eyes blindfolded while guards kicked them and walked dogs over them.
“There was no mercy. We stayed in that state of sexual abuse and beatings for about 20 minutes to half an hour. Then they told us to get dressed and took us back to the prison,” Al-Bakri added.
According to his testimony to Al Jazeera, a Gaza laborer identified only by the pseudonym “Job” said his life was focused on protecting and providing for his family during the war in Gaza until he was arrested by Israeli forces.
He recounted being blindfolded, beaten, trampled, and interrogated about the Al-Aqsa Flood Operation despite insisting that he had no connection to the events.
Job said Israeli soldiers told detainees that they were being punished in retaliation for what had happened on October 7, accusing them collectively of crimes committed during the operation.
Job said that during his detention, female soldiers entered his room, restrained him with handcuffs, removed his clothing, and pinned him to the ground while he was sexually assaulted with objects.
“Female soldiers entered my room, put iron handcuffs on my hands behind me, untied the handcuffs from my legs and put on more handcuffs. Then they stripped me of my clothes… They were filming the rape scene,” he uncovered.
He added that other soldiers watched, applauded, and filmed the incident. According to his account, the sexual abuse and torture continued while he was repeatedly questioned about Hamas and the Al-Aqsa Flood Operation.
The documentary concludes that sexual violence and torture allegations are part of a broader pattern of detainee abuse.
Survivors describe long-term psychological and physical harm with international observers cited argue these practices may reflect systemic issues rather than isolated incidents
The situation remains politically and legally contested, with ongoing investigations and disputes.
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