The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) reiterates its strong condemnation of Israel’s policy of arbitrary arrests and detention, as well as the torture, ill-treatment, and enforced disappearance of Palestinians from Gaza, as part of its ongoing genocide against the civilian population of the Strip. Since 7 October 2023, the fate and whereabouts of thousands of Palestinians —ranging from children to the elderly—remain unknown. Palestinians face widespread torture and ill-treatment, while the Israeli occupation authorities continue to withhold important information about their situation or deny proper access to detention facilities for lawyers, resulting in many enforced disappearances.
With each passing day, Palestinian detainees are at risk of losing their lives, or the very least sustaining irreparable physical and mental harm. The worsening conditions in detention, combined with the use of unimaginable methods of torture – including extreme physical and psychological violence, sexual violence, starvation, and medical negligence – are contributing to a devastating crisis. These abuses have been extensively documented by PCHR through (1) collecting testimonies of released Palestinian detainees in Gaza; (2) submitting requests to Israeli authorities to locate disappeared detainees; and (3) conducting prison visits.
Testimonies of released Palestinian detainees inside Gaza
PCHR, through its field workers and lawyers on the ground, have managed to obtain testimonies from over 130 detainees who have been arrested following 7 October 2023 and released from detention. Their testimonies provide a harrowing account of the torture, humiliation and dehumanisation inflicted by the Israeli occupation forces (IOF) during their detention period. All interviewees were civilians including women, children, elderly, and persons with disabilities. Among them were doctors, paramedics, nurses, journalists, lawyers, and civil servants. Most of them were arrested from different locations across the Gaza Strip during ground operations including homes, schools, hospitals, and military checkpoints, as they attempted to flee bombardments or seek shelter. Several were used as human shields before being transferred to detention facilities. The other testimonies obtained by PCHR concerned Palestinian workers from Gaza arrested inside the Green Line following the events on 7 October 2023. Despite holding valid permits issued by the Israeli occupation authorities, they were still detained and tortured.
Request to Israeli authorities to locate disappeared detainees
Since the beginning of the ongoing genocide, PCHR has also been working tirelessly on collecting information about the fate and whereabouts of Palestinian detainees detained in military camps under the control of the Israeli army and prisons run by the Israeli Prison Service (IPS). As of 31 October 2024, PCHR sent 15 communications to the relevant Israeli authorities concerning 303 Palestinians arrested by IOF. In response, the authorities provided information on the fate and location of 209 individuals (88 in Negev Prison, 18 in Nafha Prison, 26 in Ofer Prison, 64 in Ofer Military Camp, 8 in Askalan Prison, 4 in Al-Ramla Prison, and 1 in Moscobiyeh Prison) while stating that 91 individuals were not in their custody. This is despite multiple eyewitness accounts of many of these individuals being arrested and taken by IOF. Among those unaccounted for are dozens of Palestinian children.
According to the information sent to PCHR, all detainees have been detained under the “Incarceration of Unlawful Combatants Law,” which amongst other things, allow mass arrests and indefinite detention of civilians without charge. Some of the detainees have been presented before Israeli district courts, as shown in the document provided to PCHR and have a date set for their release, although some of these detainees denied being presented before any courts. Some of them were expected to be released in recent weeks and months, but their detention has been extended indefinitely under that law. Others have neither been presented to a district court nor given a release date, with no explanation provided for their continued detention.
Of the 209 individuals, PCHR has been informed of the death of three Palestinian detainees, two of them died in Sde Teiman detention camp. These three are among dozens of Palestinians who have been announced dead inside Israeli detention. The first is Amro Hatem Fawzi Ouda, 32, who works as a salesman in a grocery store. He was arrested from his house in Al-Zaitoun neighborhood in Gaza city on 7 December 2023 and died on 13 December 2023 in Sde Teiman, a week after his arrest. The second is Hussein Saber Hussein Abu Obaida, 31, who works as a salesman in a pastry shop. He was arrested from his house in the Japanese Neighborhood in Khan Younis on 22 January 2024. He died on 29 January 2024 in Sde Teiman, almost a week after he was arrested. The third person is Ali Abduallah Soliman, 64, a retired teacher who was arrested on 2 January 2024 from his house in Khan Younis during an IOF ground operation. The Israeli authorities said that he died on 5 February 2024, a month and 3 days after he was arrested, but unlike the previous two cases, no information was provided concerning the location of his death.
According to the Military Control and Command Centre for Prisons, the IOF’s body responsible for running detention camps, “an investigation was opened by the Military Police to clarify the circumstances of death.” However, based on PCHR’s decades of experiences with the Israeli investigative and judicial system, it is almost certain that no credible investigations have been or will be carried out to determine the circumstances of their deaths, given Israel’s long history of unwillingness and inability to conduct genuine and transparent investigations into crimes or violations committed against Palestinians.
It should be noted that due to the unwillingness of the Israeli authorities to provide information concerning a large number of the detainees, especially children, PCHR sent to the United Nations Working Group on Enforced Disappearances communications concerning 141 Palestinians to pressure the Israeli to disclose information about their fate and whereabouts.
Prisons’ visits
In the last 3 months, PCHR’s lawyer inside the Green Line has conducted visits to 35 Palestinian detainees from Gaza, held in Ofer Military Camp, Ofer Prison, Negev Prison and Nafha Prison. The lawyer’s report of the current detention conditions corroborates the testimonies collected by PCHR from released detainees.
When meeting with PCHR’s lawyer, Palestinians detainees appeared physically and mentally exhausted and seemed to be completely disconnected from the outside world to the point where they were unaware of the date and time. They also had no knowledge of the duration of their detention, or the charges brought against them. During their interrogation, they were informed that their detention is indefinite and will be held until the end of the military campaign on the Gaza Strip.
The detainees told PCHR’s lawyer that they continue to be subjected to torture and ill-treatment, including deprivation of food, water, sleep, and the ability to practice their religion. Some detainees reported losing 20 to 30 kilograms of weight due to the limited food and the consumption of contaminated water, which contains high levels of chlorine. They also reported a lack of personal hygiene supplies, as detainees are only allowed to shower once for two minutes every two weeks and in a group. This has led to the spread of skin diseases among them, especially scabies.
They also stated that they were forced to sleep on extremely thin mattresses, in overcrowded cells and tents and were subjected to beatings, insults and constant raids during the day and night by prison guards and their dogs, to instill fear and humiliation in their minds and hearts.
In addition, none of the detainees were able to see a doctor or were provided with any medication or medical care. One of the detainees visited suffers from paralysis of the lower extremities with a disability rate of 70%. He was not provided with any wheelchair nor a medical mattress, crutches, or any kind of medical care. When he was brought for the visit, the soldiers dragged him along. Others reported suffering from skin ulcers, scabies، burns as a result of being tortured by nitric acid, and respiratory problems.
It is worth noting that PCHR’s lawyer, while visiting the detainees in the prisons and military camps, was subjected to strict and humiliating procedures, including a very thorough personal search, very long waits before entering the facilities, and the confiscation of all their belongings, including documents, powers of attorney, and even their personal phone.
Meetings took place in barracks surrounded by barbed wires containing a table and a chair. Above them, a camera was positioned to record the interview. The detainees were brought by IOF one-by-one with their hands and feet tied, blindfolded, and forced to bend at a 90-degree angle. A barbed wire fence separated them from the lawyer, and four to five soldiers were reportedly present during the meeting.
Torture as a Form of Genocide
The systematic and widespread torture and ill-treatment that Palestinian detainees have been subjected to, and their enforced disappearance is intrinsically linked to the ongoing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. Notably, Article II(b) of the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide includes “causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group” as one of the five acts of genocide listed therein. It is worth noting that PCHR’s documentation contains exhaustive amounts of genocidal statements that have been made against the detainees.
In light of the ongoing atrocities, PCHR reiterates its call on the international community to immediately take all necessary measures to pressure Israel to (1) cease its ongoing genocide against Palestinians from Gaza, including the torture and ill-treatment of detainees, (2) provide information concerning the fate and whereabouts of thousands who have been forcibly disappeared, (3) release those arbitrarily detained without delay and, (4) grant the International Committee of the Red Cross as well as lawyers immediate access to visit the detainees.
Moreover, PCHR calls on the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court to investigate those responsible for the commission of Rome Statute crimes against Palestinians, including Palestinian detainees and submit further arrest warrants concerning those Israeli officials and military commanders who are responsible for the crimes committed against the Palestinian people.
PCHR notes the failure of Dr. Alice Jill Edwards, Special Rapporteur on Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, to properly address and highlight the ongoing systematic and wide-spread torture inflicted upon Palestinian detainees for the past 14 months. Despite the detailed and evidence-based submissions and urgent appeals made by several Palestinian human rights organisations, including PCHR, the Special Rapporteur has not made adequate acknowledgment, investigation, or intervention, concerning the situation of Palestinian detainees and decided to ignore their suffering and the pain of their loved ones.
