DaysofPal – Newly released testimonies from detainees held in Israeli prisons have revealed a shocking level of abuse and systematic violations against prisoners from the Gaza Strip, including thousands reportedly held under enforced disappearance, with dozens dying under torture in Israeli prisons.
According to the testimonies, at least 1,283 detainees are classified by the Israeli occupation as “unlawful combatants,” meaning they are being held without clear charges or specific legal claims.
The accounts were collected during a series of recent visits conducted by a group of lawyers to detainees held in the Negev Prison and Ramla Prison, particularly in the “Rakefet” section and the Ramla prison clinic.
The testimonies describe severe and ongoing practices of torture and mistreatment.
A joint report issued by the Commission of Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs and the Palestinian Prisoners’ Club, obtained by Palestine Online, stated that detainees in the “Rakefet” section reported a range of repressive measures.
Most prominent of these measures include daily beatings, deliberate humiliation, and the use of finger-breaking as a method of punishment and systematic torture, especially against detainees undergoing trials.
Prison guards also reportedly use tight restraints as a form of torture, intentionally causing restricted blood flow to the limbs and severe pain.
During limited outdoor breaks, detainees are forced to remain handcuffed and are prohibited from raising their heads or speaking to one another.
Each cell reportedly holds four prisoners, with only three steel beds available, forcing one detainee to sleep on the floor.
Prisoners are also forbidden from speaking in their cells, and mattresses are removed daily from 4:00 a.m. until 11:00 p.m., forcing detainees to sit for long hours on bare metal frames.
The report further highlights ongoing verbal abuse, insults, and threats of violence, particularly before lawyer visits, in an apparent effort to intimidate detainees and prevent them from speaking about their conditions.
In addition, detainees are reportedly denied the ability to perform prayers, face a near-total lack of hygiene supplies, and are systematically deprived of medical care.
Israeli forces distribute toothpaste without providing toothbrushes, while a single roll of tissue is shared among four prisoners every two days.
Several detainees recounted harrowing details of their arrest and interrogation. Many said they were subjected to military-style interrogations involving prolonged stress positions and severe beatings over consecutive days.
One detainee reported being beaten on sensitive parts of his body to extract confessions, while being blindfolded throughout the interrogation and threatened with a sharp object.
He later suffered a broken finger after being transferred to the “Rakefet” section.
Another detainee stated that intense beatings and torture caused him to lose sensation in his feet.
In Negev Prison, detainees reported that during the most recent war period they were denied outdoor breaks entirely and were prevented from showering for extended periods, alongside continued repression and physical assaults.
Food shortages have also become critical. Detainees said they have been forced for eight months to ration their meals and endure long hours of hunger, noting that a single meal is insufficient even for a child.
A worsening health crisis has emerged due to the spread of scabies in the prison. Many detainees have suffered from the disease for months, with severe itching reported in all cases. Some who recovered were reinfected due to the continued lack of adequate medical treatment.
Additional daily degrading practices include forcing detainees to kneel during headcounts or searches, as well as the random firing of rubber bullets inside prison sections.
One detainee reported being struck three times in his left leg by rubber bullets.
During a visit to a Gaza detainee in the Ramla prison clinic, lawyers reported that the prisoner had been transferred there after severe torture.
He sustained liver injuries as a result of beatings and required surgery. Several Gaza detainees remain in the clinic, including one who is paralyzed.
The two right organizations stated that these testimonies reveal an unprecedented level of organized abuse carried out within the Israeli prison system.
They described the practices, including systematic torture, starvation, medical neglect, and daily humiliation, as part of a broader structural system of abuse that may amount to acts of genocide.
They further warned that the continued classification of Gaza detainees as “unlawful combatants” has provided legal cover for enforced disappearance, arbitrary detention, and torture, carried out without effective international oversight or accountability.
The organizations renewed calls on the international human rights community and supporters of the Palestinian cause to urgently intervene to stop the systematic violations against detainees and to reveal the fate of those from Gaza who remain forcibly disappeared.
Shortlink for this post: https://daysofpalestine.ps/?p=74578
