Archive photo of Palestinian female prisoners (Al Jazeera)

The Palestine Liberation Organization's Commission for Prisoners' and Ex-Prisoners' Affairs said that 60 female prisoners in the Israeli Damon prison are living in tragic conditions, quoting one of the female prisoners as saying that their prison is like "cemeteries for the living."

The Commission noted that the female prisoners are “completely isolated from the outside world, there is no communication or visits, and there are major restrictions on visiting lawyers.”

This coincides with “severe sanctions imposed since the beginning of the Israeli aggression on Gaza on October 7, on prisoners, amid a complete absence of the role of the Red Cross and all humanitarian and human rights institutions,” warning that “the prisoners are in real danger,” according to the same statement.

The Commission quoted the testimony of prisoner Dina Khoury (24 years old) from the city of Haifa in the 48 territories (in the Israeli interior), who told the lawyer of the Prisoners’ Affairs Commission, “We live in cemeteries for the living.”

According to the commission, Khoury recounted details of how, since her arrest on October 11, she had been subjected to “death and rape threats, insults, beatings, isolation, and deprivation of the lowest necessities of human life,” under the pretext of accusing her of “incitement through social media.”

She said, "A force of occupation soldiers raided my house and arrested me. I remained with my hands and feet tied. Then an investigator came and told the policeman to open the closet and put her head in it so that our youth could come and rape her. They also threatened to kill me and shoot a bullet in my head."

Khoury continued, "I was transferred to Hasharon Prison, where the series of abuse and torture continued. I was transferred to a room that looked like a cell. It was narrow and there was nothing in it. Its windows were high and were open iron bars without plastic or glass. They let in very cold air and were full of bugs. The mattresses are very thin and filled with polluted water.”

Khoury says, "The female prisoners are constantly subjected to strip searches. We almost die from cold and hunger. There are no clothes or even soap for bathing. The daily breathing space is forbidden, and the food is very bad."

The statement explained that Khoury "suffered a seizure and lost consciousness. When she was taken to the clinic, it was found that she was suffering from low blood pressure and blood sugar, and an accelerated heartbeat, while the prison doctor only advised her to drink water."

Israel detains 70 female prisoners in its prisons, according to a previous statement by the Commission.

Israel launched a series of arrests since October 7, including Palestinians from the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and Arab towns in Israel, coinciding with a devastating war on the Gaza Strip that left tens of thousands of civilian victims, most of them children and women.

The war on the Gaza Strip also caused an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe and massive destruction of infrastructure, which led to Israel being brought before the International Court of Justice on charges of “genocide” for the first time since its founding, despite its history of wars, especially against the Gaza Strip, which it has besieged for years.

Source: Anadolu Agency