RAMALLAH, January 12, 2025 (WAFA) – In a harrowing report, the Palestinian Authority’s Prisoners and Ex-Prisoners Affairs Commission, along with the Palestinian Prisoner’s Society, revealed new testimonies from detainees in Gaza who were recently visited in the Israeli prisons of Naqab and Nafha.
The testimonies highlight a range of shocking abuses, including systematic torture, severe mistreatment, medical neglect, and brutal beatings, with many detainees continuing to suffer from lasting physical and psychological trauma.
Over two days, 23 detainees from Gaza were visited, revealing chilling details about their experiences. According to the testimonies, the abuse began immediately upon arrest, particularly during the initial period and interrogation.
Nearly 464 days after the start of the ongoing Israeli genocide in Gaza, and more than a year since the detention of many of these detainees, the accounts continued to detail torture, starvation, medical malpractice, violent beatings, and severe repression. The reports also highlighted the spreading of the highly contagious skin disease scabies among prisoners.
These latest revelations add to a growing body of evidence documenting systematic violations committed by Israeli forces against Palestinian detainees from Gaza. While Sde Teiman military camp was previously known as a major center for torture and mistreatment, detainees' accounts show that similar abuses have now been reported across various prisons and detention centers, including Naqab and Ofer.
Notably, extremist Israeli Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir recently revealed in a video from Rakefet Prison – a facility beneath the infamous Nitzan Ramla prison – that several other new detention camps had been established post-war, including Ofer, Nafha, Anatot, and Sde Teiman, to detain prisoners from Gaza. These camps and detention centers are known only to specialized institutions, and detainees from Gaza are scattered across various Israeli prisons.
The testimonies gathered from Gaza detainees describe a pattern of systematic abuse and dire living conditions.
They burned me with hot water
One detainee, 45-year-old K.N., detained in December 2023, recounted his horrifying experience: "I was severely beaten to extract confessions, leaving me with fractures. After 58 days in a camp in the Gaza perimeter, I was transferred to Naqab Prison, where they burned me with hot water. The burn marks are still visible on my body. We live in tents, which are torn, and we suffer from extreme cold and hunger."
I go to bed hungry and wake up hungry
21-year-old A.H. shared his suffering: "I was detained in February 2024, during the evacuation process, and taken to several camps before reaching Naqab. I have developed boils, sores, and holes all over my body due to scabies – I go to bed hungry and wake up hungry. I also suffer from high eye pressure, and my left eye is in serious danger."
We were beaten for an entire day
21-year-old M.H. described his brutal first days of detention: "The first days of my detention were horrifying. I was subjected to brutal torture, including a full day of beating, followed by being doused with sewage and urinated on by the soldiers. Then we were transferred to another camp for 27 days, where we were kept kneeling, blindfolded, with hands and feet shackled. We live in constant suffering and torment."
We live in hell
Another detainee, K.J., recalled: "In the beginning, we lived in hell. We didn’t know our fate or legal status. We endured every form of abuse, and now we face hunger. The food portions are minimal and inedible. Many of us collect crumbs to make one meal, and since our arrest, we’ve been deprived of sugar and salt. Our living conditions are unbearable."
Prisoners are hungry and shivering from the cold
25-year-old M.A. recounted his experience: "I was detained from a school and subjected to physical abuse, nakedness, and field interrogation. I was later transferred to various camps before reaching Naqab. Today, most of the prisoners are suffering from extreme fatigue and weight loss. Many faint due to the severe conditions. The hunger, diseases, and cold are unbearable."
My artificial eye fell out due to severe beating
Detainee M.D. shared his painful story: "I was detained while with my family and taken to Gaza’s frontier before being moved to Naqab. The severe beating caused me to lose my artificial eye, and I now have a hollow socket. The soldiers also confiscated my glasses."
The testimonies also highlighted the dire health needs of many detainees. One of the detainees had cancer and had undergone several surgeries before his arrest, but now his condition has worsened due to lack of proper medical care. Many other detainees are also suffering from serious health issues and are being denied medical treatment.
The report also revealed that some detainees lost family members in the ongoing Israeli aggression on Gaza. One detainee had lost his wife and several relatives, and later, his father passed away, leaving him to cope with unimaginable grief while in detention.
M.N
