‘R. H. (39), married with 3 children and having hypertension, from Beit Lahia.  She is now internally displaced in Rafah.

The affidavit was given to PCHR’s fieldworker on 01 February 2024

When the war erupted on 07 October 2023, I was in Kamal ‘Odwan Hospital treating my 5-year-old son from asthma. After 3 days and finishing my son’s treatment at the hospital, we left to UNRWA al-Fakhourah School in Jabalia refugee camp that has become a shelter.

I stayed at school until it was bombed by IOF, if I am not mistaken in November 2023 (the school was targeted by IOF on 18 November 2023 killing and wounding many.) As a result, my husband’s other wife was killed along with 3 of her children, so fearing for myself and my children, I rushed out to UNRWA Abu Hussein School in Jabalia refugee camp that was later bombed by IOF without a warning. Leaflets were then dropped ordering us to evacuate via the so-called safe corridor to the south ahead of Gaza Valley, so I took my children and left to the south searching for a shelter or a tent to seek refuge in Rafah.

On 02 December 2023, when I arrived at the checkpoint which IOF established on Salah al-Deen Road to cross to the safe corridor upon IOF’s instructions, the soldiers called me via the loudspeaker to come. I told them I had my children aged between 5 and 13 years and could not leave them. He told me to let them walk alone and then asked me about my name and my ID number. I gave them what they wanted and they then ordered me to go behind a sand berm they created by the roadsides. I went there to find an open tent, where they had me handcuffed, searched and blindfolded, and an interrogator arrived starting to interrogate me. First, he asked for my name and ID number and then about Hamas and if I knew any of my family members affiliated with Hamas.

I waited for 5 to 6 hours not knowing my fate or what happened with my children, and when I tried to look up a little so I would see where I was, I found myself in a very dark place with another woman. They then put us in a vehicle that I did not know what it was and drove us to an empty area. We remained there for the day and the next day they took us to another area, where they stripped us and dressed us a grey pajama without underwear. They then drove us for another 8 hours until they dropped us at a detention facility called “’Aan Tod.”

I remained in that detention facility for 8 days, during which, I was subjected to interrogation and humiliation by taking off my sandals, hitting me with them on my face and repeatedly beating me on my thigh with their boots and feet. I was interrogated for 4 times, and each time they took me early in the morning and brought me back in the evening. Before each interrogation, which lasted for 8 hours, while strip-searching us and having our legs tied, the female soldiers were biting their lips implying sexual intent and the male soldiers were staring at us. They were laughing at us, insulting us with genital-related swear words and making sexual suggestive movements. When they finished the interrogation, they would search us again.

Moreover, they kept us cuffed when we went to the bathroom saying, “you can handle yourself.” There was another woman detained with me who helped me pulling my pants down and up when I go to the bathroom; we helped each other a lot. Meanwhile, if we wanted to drink, we would take the stairs to reach a tap and drink from its contaminated and chlorinated water. Thus, we filled bottles with this water and left it for half an hour until it became clearer.

We were then taken to Damon prison in Haifa. We were detained there for 45 days; during which, we were daily interrogated to verify the information we gave and the information they had. all the time, I was handcuffed in a room of 5 beds, one blanket and a very light mattress with a bathroom destitute of water; the room was very small with too many detainees. In one of the interrogations, I told the interrogator that on October 7^th I was at the hospital, and he commented that all you Gazan women are liars and hypocrites, and the Israeli women’s shoes are better than you. He insulted me with the worst words that I cannot repeat. They were always sexually harassing the female detainees by touching their necks and breasts and removing our hijabs.

I remember one day we heard there was a ceasefire and a prisoner exchange deal, the female soldiers told us not to cheer up because it would not be for us but for them, provokingly saying, “you do not get released in exchange deals, you are here kidnapped.”

As I have hypertension, my pressure went up, so I started calling and the warden was passing by but he refused to give medication. I passed out and fell on the ground, but they then had my hands and legs tied and took me to check my pressure.

Due to the unclean water, the detainees complained of abdominal pain, itchy throat, unprecedented constipation and stomach ache. Whenever the nurse passed by, we would ask for medicine and he would say, “you constantly ask for medicine.” And we answered him to provide us clean water and we would never ask for medicine. He was very bad-tempered and always insulted us.

For food, we were eating uncooked rice, half-cooked pasta, and raw hotdogs and each one’s share of food was so little as much as a spoon. We also had 3 slight loafs of bread while sweets and coffee were banned and they offered us almost cold tea. We suffered a lot, they did not want to hear any voice, and when we were praying, they would suddenly storm the cell claiming they wanted to count us, forcing us to stop praying. Moreover, when they wanted to punish us, they cut off the water. We were also not allowed to cry and if we did, they would torture us; for example, they tightened the cuffs around my wrists leaving wounds in them and whenever I begged the soldier not to press so my veins would not be affected as I have hypertension he pressed more.

In one of the torture methods during the interrogation, the soldiers forced me to bend and they made the female soldiers threw themselves on me, choosing the fattest.

They threw food for us like if we were dogs and we were not allowed to pick it until they leave. We were also deprived of sleep; the mattress was very light and the blanket was very dirty and black. We were freezing to death but they never cared. Moreover, they barely gave us toilet paper, and we were peeing on ourselves for taking us late to the bathroom. We had been subjected to insults and threats swearing not to allow me to see my kids and brothers again.”

On 12 January 2024, I left that prison to another with heavy deployment of IOF and snipers. We stayed there for one night and the next day, they released us at the Kerem Shalom crossing in a humiliating condition, laughing at us and shooting right above us all the way until we reached a tent belonging to United Nations employees. We were then taken on a bus to Ta’if School in Rafah. All what I was think about was my children who had to walk alone via the safe corridor amid shooting and I did not know their fate.

When I arrived, I left everything and went out looking for my three children until someone met me and could recognize me. He told me that my children were with someone, who took them to Nuseirat refugee camp, and then I found them at Al-Quds Open University. I couldn’t believe myself and started screaming and hugging them fearing for them and missing them so much.