'Everyone was naked and bleeding': Israeli torture of Palestinians exposed

A new report by the Israeli human rights group B’Tselem has revealed gruesome cases of torture against Palestinian detainees in Israeli prisons, with an “overwhelming majority of them” being held without trial or charge.

The report, consisting of detailed accounts from 55 prisoners, found that the conditions of detainees have drastically worsened since October 7, even for those who have been held for years before the attack by the Palestinian resistance group Hamas.

Thousands of Palestinians, classified as "security prisoners," are incarcerated in Israeli prisons at any given time. This classification entails numerous restrictions and stringent conditions regarding their prison sentences, incarceration conditions, and security arrangements, as outlined in Israel’s so-called Prison Ordinance.

The number of Palestinians detained by Israel and classified as "security prisoners" has nearly doubled since the start of the Gaza war.

As of early July 2024, there were 9,623 Palestinians incarcerated, with 4,781 of them detained without trial, without being informed of the allegations against them, and without access to the right to defend themselves, the report states.

'All we prayed for was to come out alive' - life inside an Israeli prison

Since October 7, at least 60 people have died in Israeli custody, with 48 of them from Gaza, according to the report. None of the criminal investigations into these deaths have resulted in prosecutions.

The new report comes bare few days after a similar detailed report by the United Nations, which said that thousands of Palestinians have endured egregious conditions in Israeli prisons and torture facilities since October 2023.

The latest report also includes testimonies from detainees documenting three specific cases of Palestinian deaths in Israeli prisons.

It comprises eight chapters: Background and Methodology, The Normative Framework, Prison Protocols, Physical and Psychological Abuse, Deprivation of Adequate Living Conditions, Keter – The Israel Prison Service Initial Reaction Force (IRF), Deaths Behind Bars, and Palestinian Prisoners with Israeli Citizenship.

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“Some of the forces filmed us with cell phones and cameras. I heard the officer tell the others in Hebrew: ‘We’re live streaming for Ben Gvir.’”

The direct accounts of detainees provide shocking testimonies of a wide range of human rights violations, including severe and arbitrary violence, sexual assault, humiliation and degradation, deliberate starvation, forced unhygienic conditions, sleep deprivation, and denial of medical treatment.

The methods for these violations, detailed in the report by the human rights group and described as occurring within "torture camps," are unimaginable.

Here are just a few of them detailing the inhumane, systematic torture committed by Israeli authorities:

"We were taken to Megiddo. When we got off the bus, a soldier said to us: "Welcome to hell." —Fouad Hassan, 45, Nablus

“On 7 October 2023, we heard on the news (on Hamas blitz). That day, about 20 guards burst with batons into the cell I shared with five other inmates and beat us for about half an hour. The guards came into the cell, hit us on the head from behind and sprayed large amounts of pepper spray in the cell. We all started suffocating … The pepper spray burned our faces and stung our eyes. We asked for cream to soothe the pain, but they refused.” —N.H., occupied East Jerusalem

“Two of them stripped me like the other prisoners, and then threw me on top of the other prisoners. One of them brought a carrot and tried to shove it in my anus. While he was trying to shove the carrot in, some of the others filmed me on their cell phones. I screamed in pain and terror. It went on like that for about three minutes … Then they took us back to the room. When we got back to the cell, we were still in shock, crying silently. No one spoke. We couldn’t look at each other.” —A.H., Hebron

“Every time I tried to move away from the dog, the guard would kick me hard in the legs, and another guard would grab me by the testicles and push me forward hard while swearing at me.” —Thaer Halahleh, 45, Hebron

"I asked the soldiers for the inhaler I had in my bag, but they refused. They wouldn’t give me my diabetes medication, either. [...] they came and told me they were taking me to the infirmary. Four Israeli Prison Service (IPS) people escorted me, but instead of reaching an infirmary, they suddenly put me in a room, pushed me down to the floor and started beating me.” —Ashraf al-Muhtaseb, 53, Hebron

“Because my medication was taken away at Etzion, I didn’t have any during my first two days at Ofer. I started feeling dizzy and unbalanced, and had trouble walking. I asked a guard to get my medication, and he answered in Arabic: ‘Die.’” —F.J., Hebron

“They forcibly undressed me, took off my pants and underwear … Then they hit my testicles with force … They brought two more prisoners and told them to watch while they beat me. I was still naked … The guards pulled their hair to lift their heads and forced them to open their eyes to watch me.” —A.H., Hebron

“From under the blindfold I saw they were wrapping an Israeli flag around me and filming me. Then one of them put his arm around my neck, pushed my head down and ran with me in the yard. Another soldier filmed it. They pretended they were shooting a kidnapping scene in a movie. I heard the soldiers laughing and asking each other to take a video.” —Muhammad Srur, 34, Ramallah

“Some of the forces filmed us with cell phones and cameras. I heard the officer tell the others in Hebrew: ‘We’re live streaming for Ben Gvir.’” —Firas Hassan, 50, Bethlehem

“During the visits, they explained the suppression and torture methods being used against us. They brought them into the cells and forced us to keep our heads down, so we didn't actually see the visitors. Once they told us [Minister of National Security] Ben Gvir was there himself. Those humiliating visits lasted at least 40 minutes each, and the whole time we had to kneel. Sometimes the visitors took an active part in humiliating, swearing and shouting at us.” —Musa ‘Aasi, 58, Ramallah

“To stop us from sleeping, they played things on loudspeakers for hours: shouting, cursing, all kinds of whistles and other disturbing noises, and the Israeli national anthem.” —Sami Khalili, 41, Nablus

“They cursed our mothers on the loudspeakers.” —A.H., Hebron

“Everyone was stark naked and bleeding. They threw them one on top of the other. People were crying and shouting, and the guards were yelling at them and cursing them and their mothers. They forced us to curse our mothers, as well as Hamas and Sinwar. They also forced us to kiss the Israeli flag and sing the Israeli national anthem.” —Sami Khalili, 41, Nablus

“The toilet in the cell was clogged. The first time we used it, the water overflowed from the toilet bowl to where we were sitting. We asked the guard to do something about it, but he just said, "Great," and left. We had no cleaning supplies, either.” —Muhammad Salah, 27, Nablus

“They hit Thaer the hardest. He tried to protect his head with his hand, but pretty soon he had to let go because of the blows. They kept on hitting him on the head and the rest of his body until he fell down on the floor.”

“We called Thaer’s name over and over, but he didn’t respond. There was blood trickling from his head and his skin went dark. I think he had internal bleeding. We called out to the guard and shouted for an hour, but he didn’t respond.”

“…Five minutes later, a guard came, opened the toilet door and told us that Thaer was dead.”

“The prison commander, who was known as "Abu Yusef" … laughed and said we’d killed Thaer and wanted to frame the prison for it.” —M.A., Hebron

“He was breathing very heavily. We called the medic again to check him, and he said to call him when ‘Arafat passed away.'” —F.J., Hebron

“I woke up when someone said: "He’s dead, he’s dead," in Hebrew, "Get away from him." —Fouad Hassan, 45, Nablus