in one new report on the situation in Gaza in May 2024, the authors cited testimony “from doctors and whistleblowers” that injured detainees were held at a field hospital with “hands shackled and blindfolded on the bed 24/7.
Hostage fear
Additionally, as of May 19, 128 of the 253 people arrested in the Hamas-led terrorist attacks in southern Israel on October 7 remained in Gaza, the report’s authors said. , while emphasizing that the hostage taking was a “serious violation of the Geneva Agreements”. Conventions and war crimes”. More than 35 hostages were declared dead and those still alive may face “the worst conditions”, with accounts from those released suggesting “many reports of sexual abuse in detained”.
Desert camp
Returning to the Palestinian detainees, testimony indicates that the prisoners are “feeding through straws, there are cases of detainees having their limbs amputated due to prolonged chains”, according to updates from Global protection clusterwhich brings together United Nations agencies and other international and non-governmental organizations.
It echoed earlier concerns about alleged mistreatment of detainees from the United Nations human rights office, OHCHR And independent rights expert. The Israeli military has previously denied these claims.
It is believed that at least 27 detainees from Gaza may have died while detained at an Israeli military base, including at Sde Teiman in Israel’s Negev desert, while “at least 4” Others from the enclave have died in Israel Prison Service (IPS) facilities from alleged beatings or lack of medical assistance.
Blindfolded and handcuffed
“Whether detained at IPS or military facilities, detainees face extremely harsh conditions of detention, including overcrowding and some are held in cage-like facilities, often blindfolded and handcuffed, not allowed to go to the bathroom, exposed to the elements, Provide food and water in sufficient quantities to survive.”
The report claims women and children were among those detained in “mass detentions” carried out by the Israel Defense Forces, adding that many families “had no information about their relatives”, while Israel “did not or refused to provide information about whereabouts”. or the fate of many detained people… Boys 14+ are often detained with adult men. Young children are detained along with women and elderly family members, often for shorter periods of time.”
Mass arrests
The Israeli military recently claimed to have detained 2,300 Palestinians from Gaza during ground operations in Gaza, the report’s authors said, adding that the actual number is likely to be much higher.
At the end of April, some 865 people were detained as “illegal combatants,” a category unknown to international law. “Numerous” other disturbing testimonies show that detainees were subjected to “forced nudity, sexual harassment, threats of rape, as well as torture by brutal beatings, dog attacks, strip-searching, waterboarding, and deprivation of food, sleep, and bathroom access, among other cruelties.”
According to accounts by released detainees and doctors who had access to detainees, the purpose of this treatment was to coerce confessions and screen alleged perpetrators. members of Palestinian armed groups.
