Watan-Since the attacks of October 7th, Israel has waged a destructive war on the Gaza Strip, resulting in the deaths of over thirty thousand Palestinians. As part of that campaign, Israel has also arrested thousands of Palestinians from Gaza.
Released prisoners have described widespread physical abuses at the hands of the occupying forces, with at least 27 detainees from Gaza reported to have died in military detention.
Simultaneously, Israeli forces have arrested thousands of other Palestinians, most of them from the West Bank, with reports indicating that at least ten of them have died in occupation prisons.
Sdeh Teiman Base
According to a report by the French newspaper “Le Figaro,” intense secrecy still surrounds the places and conditions of detention for Palestinians from Gaza who have been captured by the Israeli army.
Despite urgent requests from non-governmental organizations specializing in human rights defense, they have not been allowed to meet with or know the conditions of their detention.
The Israeli army does not disclose the number or identities of Palestinian prisoners and refuses to comment on accusations of mistreatment substantiated by compelling testimonies from Palestinian victims.
The International Committee of the Red Cross has so far been unable to access the military bases where they are interrogated, often for several weeks after their arrest.
The main camp, according to Israeli media, is located at the Sdeh Teiman base, not far from Beersheba in the Negev Desert. There are other detention centers located in the “Anatot” settlement, which specifically houses detained women and Palestinians from Gaza who were in the territories of ’48 or the West Bank on the morning of October 7th.
Arrest of a Volunteer with the Red Crescent
Many Palestinians have confirmed that they have been subjected to assault or even torture during their detention by the Israeli army.
Bahaa Abu Rukba, 24, told “France Info”: “I swear to you, I feel as if I have spent more than 20 years in prison because of torture. I don’t even know where I was… and I never saw the light once.”
Bahaa Abu Rukba, a first aid volunteer with the Red Crescent, was arrested in the early afternoon of December 21st at the association’s headquarters in northern Gaza and spent three weeks in detention.
He told the source: “We spent more than 20 hours a day kneeling. They did things to us that are unimaginable. They told me, ‘You are a member of Hamas.’ I replied that I work in a humanitarian organization. They didn’t believe me and tortured me.”
The volunteer continued in his testimony conveyed by journalist Tebo Lavieff: “They made me completely naked and tied my hands and feet. They hit me on my private parts. I will spare you the details, but I suffered very humiliating treatment.”