Palestinians arrested by Israel from the Gaza Strip were tortured (Reuters)

An investigation conducted by the Israeli newspaper Haaretz revealed that 27 Palestinian detainees from Gaza died in military facilities where they were held since the outbreak of the war on the Strip last October.

The newspaper explained that the detainees died while being held at the “Sde Teman” military base located northeast of Beersheba, and at the Anatot base near Jerusalem, or during interrogation in other investigation facilities inside Israel.

The left-leaning newspaper said that the Israeli army did not provide any data on the circumstances of their deaths, but indicated that some of them were injured during the fighting, while others suffered from a complex medical condition before their arrest.

The newspaper pointed out that the arrest of Palestinians from Gaza was carried out under the “unlawful combatants” law, which allows Israel “to imprison any person without trial if he participates in hostilities against the state, and is not defined as a prisoner of war in Israel,” as the government approved an amendment to the law that tightens Conditions of detention: Detainees suspected of involvement in so-called “terrorism” are allowed to be detained for 75 days without being brought before a judge.

According to information provided by the Prison Service to the Association for Individual Rights in Israel, the Israeli authorities are detaining about 793 Palestinians from Gaza under this law, in addition to several hundred others detained according to criminal procedures, and others are still detained by army forces.

Torture and neglect

Haaretz newspaper revealed that detainees at the Sde Timan base spend all their time blindfolded and shackled.

It quoted an Israeli source as saying that Israeli soldiers mistreat prisoners, beat them and punish them.

She added that the released detainees provided testimonies about beatings and abuse at the hands of soldiers and during interrogation.

The newspaper added that photos of the released detainees showed bruises and marks on their wrists as a result of being handcuffed for a long period.

The newspaper pointed to a report by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) - published yesterday in the New York Times - that spoke of testimonies from Palestinian detainees who spoke of being beaten, robbed, and sexually assaulted, stripped of their clothes, and prevented from meeting a doctor or lawyer.

Haaretz said that two of the deceased were workers who were arrested after the events of last October 7, and they were found in Israel under an official work permit they had in their possession. One of them died as a result of not receiving the necessary treatment as he was suffering from diabetes, and another was suffering from diabetes. cancer.

A picture previously published by the Israeli Ministry of Defense of detainees in Gaza claiming that they were armed

The story of a detainee who died

The Israeli newspaper pointed out that in late February, Izz al-Din al-Banna, a 40-year-old man from Gaza, who was suffering from a serious illness before his arrest, died in the Prison Service clinic.

The newspaper explained that Al-Banna was first brought to the Sde Timan base and was initially detained on a regular basis there. He was not transferred to the Sde Timan medical facility until two weeks later, and about a month ago he was transferred to the Prison Service clinic.

She added that a lawyer recently visited the clinic and said that the prisoners there said that he was suffering from paralysis and serious injuries.

According to the lawyer, one of the prisoners said that Al-Banna appeared yellow and showed signs of death, but he did not receive appropriate treatment.

In a comment to Al Jazeera, the head of the Palestinian Prisoners’ Club, Abdullah Al-Zaghari, said that the number of martyrs in Israeli prisons may increase in light of the occupation’s practices against them.

According to Al-Zaghari, the released Palestinian prisoners say that Israeli prisons have turned into cemeteries.

Since October 7, 2023, Israel has been waging a devastating war on the Gaza Strip, leaving tens of thousands of victims, most of them children and women, massive infrastructure destruction, and a humanitarian catastrophe, which led to Israel appearing before the International Court of Justice on charges of committing genocide.

Source: Al Jazeera + Israeli press