Shocking Testimonies from Children Reveal Israeli Occupation’s Use of Hunger to Push Children to Aid Centers, Where They are then Arrested, Tortured, Stripped, Beaten and Intimidated

After weeks of their arrest while trying to obtain food from Israeli-American aid distribution center in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip, children released by the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) shared their painful testimonies with PCHR staff about the torture they were subjected to by the IOF, having only one guilt trying to secure a livelihood.

Amid severe starvation imposed by the IOF, these children headed in late June to the aid distribution point in Rafah joining thousands of Palestinians desperately seeking food parcels; however, they found themselves arrested after facing the risk of death under IOF’s fire.  On that same day, PCHR documented the killing of 4 starved civilians, including a child, and the injury of dozens more by IOF’s fire near the aid distribution point in Rafah.

According to information obtained by PCHR, at around 17:00 on Thursday, 24 July 2025, ten children arrived in a miserable health condition at Naser Medical Complex in central Khan Younis.  They had been released by the IOF weeks after their arrest near the aid distribution centers established by IOF in Rafah. They were released via Karm Abu Salem Crossing following their detention and maltreatment and then were taken to Khan Younis with the aid trucks.

The released children were identified as: Imad Mustafa Mohammed Abu Tu’aimah (16), Mahmoud Essam Mahmoud Abu Hadayed (17), Mo’men Hani Abdulaziz Abu Hajras (17), Hilal Ibrahim Mansour al-Beshiti (17), and Omar Nizar Mahmoud ‘Asfour (16), all from Khan Younis; Fares Suleiman Saleh Abu Jazar (15) from Rafah;

and Karam Hamdi Abdulrahman Hussein (16), Qusai Kaid Tawfiq al-Zaza (16), Ahmed Mohammed Fadel al-Helou (17), and Mo’az al-Sayyed Saber Salem (15), all from Gaza City.

The children’s journey to obtain food after enduring weeks and months of severe starvation was marked by life-threatening risks before, during and after their arrest, which was accompanied by torture, abuse, and degrading treatment. This stands as a a stark reflection of violations and crimes committed by IOF against Palestinian civilians of all ages and genders.

Speaking with PCHR about what drove him to the aid distribution area, one of the released children said:

“With the resumption of war on 19 March 2025, signs of starvation began to loom. Food became scarce, and essential supplies nearly disappeared, ringing alarm bells in every household. My mother was forced to divide a single loaf of bread into two halves — one for breakfast and the other for dinner. As for lunch, it was nothing more than a thin soup, barely enough to ease our hunger. We went to bed hungry most nights. This prolonged, harsh reality pushed me to make a courageous decision — to head to the American aid distribution centers in an attempt to relieve some of the burden on my mother, who endured alot just to provide us with the bare minimum to survive. I went twice to the al-Shakoush aid center, fully aware of the grave dangers threatening my life. I had to walk over 3 kilometers from the Iqlimi area to the al-Shakoush center in the south, hoping to arrive early before the aid was depleted due to the large crowds. Each journey meant crossing dangerous zones under constant Israeli gunfire. I witnessed with my own eyes heart-wrenching scenes of people being shot or injured while trying to get food. By God’s mercy, I survived both trips unharmed and managed to bring back substantial amounts of aid. It was enough to ease my mother’s suffering, the same mother who had endured the unimaginable during those days. Each time I returned, despite the dangers surrounding me, I was overwhelmed with joy when I saw my siblings sleeping with full stomachs for the first time in so long. On my third attempt to reach the aid center, on 29 June 2025, I left our tent around 06:00 and arrived in the Iqlimi area by 07:00.”

With bitterness, he shared how he was arrested near the aid distribution center:

“While we were hiding, we were surprised by the IOF surrounding us from behind, heavily armed. They approached until they were only about three meters away. They began shouting at us not to move and hurled obscene insults. Then they ordered us to strip off our clothes and sit on the ground. One soldier stepped forward and told us to put our clothes back on. Afterwards, they tied our hands behind our backs with plastic zip ties. We were overwhelmed with fear and tension. The soldiers then ordered us to walk southward to the Barracks area in Rafah. When we arrived, they forced us to sit on the ground, which was covered in stones and thorns. The pain was excruciating and lasted for three continuous hours, during which we were not allowed to move or even change our sitting position.”

About detention and interrogation and the accompanying deterioration of his health condition, he said:

“They forced us to bend forward with our heads between our legs in an extremely painful position, while our hands were bound behind our backs with plastic zip ties. Meanwhile, we were showered with obscene and degrading insults. Shortly after, an Israeli officer arrived and sat on a chair in front of us, beginning to interrogate us one by one. After the interrogation ended, the soldiers selected ten of us and took them to an unknown destination. To this day, I have no idea what happened to them. The remaining nine of us were loaded into military SUVs and transported to the Karm Abu Salem crossing. Upon arrival, we were met by other soldiers and a small bus. Before we were allowed to board the bus, they forced us to strip completely, then handed us white jumpsuits and ordered us to wear them. We were then blindfolded, and our hands and feet were shackled with metal cuffs before being placed on the bus.

On the way to “Sde Teman” prison, we were subjected to severe beatings- punched and struck with rifle butts- amid cries of pain and fear. We arrived at the prison late that same day. Once there, they untied and unblindfolded us, ordered us to remove the white jumpsuits, and gave us gray suits “pajamas” along with simple slippers. We were then transferred to a barrack carrying the number 4. Our hands remained cuffed with metal shackles at the front, while only the blindfolds and foot cuffs were removed. The next morning, soldiers came and took me alone, leaving the three others in the barrack. They led me to a place referred to as “the Disco.” As I walked, fear, thoughts of my family and what might happen to them overwhelmed me. I froze, unable to move. One of the soldiers screamed at me, “Get up! Walk! You’re acting, son of a […], but you could do October 7th!”

One of the soldiers brought me a wheelchair and took me to a doctor for examination. The doctor checked me and my eyes using a device. Afterwards, I was transferred to an interrogation room and tied to a wooden chair. There were two interrogators- one in civilian clothing and the other in military uniform. During the interrogation, one of them assaulted me with a baton, hitting me on my feet and back. He slapped me across the face so hard that a buzzing sound remained in my left ear. The interrogation lasted for nine hours. They tried to emotionally blackmail me by exploiting my relationship with my mother. They asked, “Who do you miss?” I replied, “My mother. I want to see her.” One of the interrogators then showed me a picture of her and said, “because you lied to us, you will be detained for a year and a half. We will bring your mother here and place her in the men’s section. She will be raped until she becomes pregnant. Then we will shoot her in front of you—and you will go insane. Only then will we release you.” When the interrogation ended, they took me to a place known as “the Disco” room where extremely loud music is played non-stop. The sound was so intense it felt like my eardrums would burst, and I feared losing my hearing permanently. Amid this torment, I could not control myself—I cried continuously. Each time a soldier saw me in that state, he would beat me with his hands or baton. On the third day, I was taken again for interrogation, which lasted seven hours in total, sporadically throughout the day. I was in a wheelchair, but this time they did not take me back to the ‘Disco’ room. Instead, I was placed in a solitary confinement cell measuring no more than 2×2 meters, with only a small bathroom. Although they brought me food, my psychological condition had deteriorated so severely that I could not eat. I remained in solitary confinement for three days, after which I was returned to the ‘Disco’ and then to the barrack. Later, I was transferred to Barrack 7A, where I remained for three consecutive days, unable to move as my condition unexpectedly deteriorated. I experienced a severe seizure episode—my body began turning blue, triggering panic among the other detainees. They quickly brought me a bottle of water and poured it over my face. Some water entered my left ear, and since then, I have lost hearing in that ear. Seeing my critical condition, one of the detainees began screaming, “Bring a doctor!” but no one responded. In desperation, he took off his shirt, tore it into strips, and attempted to hang himself to pressure the wardens to intervene. Only then did some of the senior officers (captains) enter the barrack and stop him. About an hour later, a doctor was finally brought in, and I was taken outside the barrack for a quick examination. I felt as if my soul was leaving my body and I could barely breathe. The doctor checked my blood pressure and said, ‘You are okay.’ He gave me a single pain  relief pill without providing any fluids, IV treatment, or proper medical care for my condition. They ordered the Shawish to take me back to the barrack. The following day, while my friends tried to ease my suffering by joking around and massaging my hands and feet, they laughed and raised their voices to lift the spirits in the barrack. However, that night, we were suddenly surprised by a raid of many soldiers carrying electric batons and threatening us. They began severely beating us with their hands and feet. They threw canisters into the closed barrack- this was not the first time; it had become a regular occurrence almost every night for an entire week, often during lunch. Sometimes, they would throw food on the ground so we would not eat it. Afterward, I began experiencing severe pain in my ear, and I have lost hearing in it entirely. I asked for medical treatment multiple times. They would take my name two to three times a day, sometimes even four, promising that a doctor would be brought to see me, but nothing ever came of it. During my detention in the barrack, they later brought in more detained children like us. We asked them about the situation in Gaza, and they told us that the starvation had worsened and that there was no flour left at all. They also mentioned that there might be a potential truce. I was eventually released, along with others, on 24 July 2025.”

Another child, who requested to remain anonymous for fear of reprisal by the IOF described the circumstances of his detention as follows:

“While we were hiding behind cement cubes near an aid distribution center, we saw an Israeli tank, a bulldozer, and small military SUVs. Soldiers appeared nearby, frightening us, and we fled, except for two young men and a girl who remained behind the cement cubes and were arrested by the IOF.  At that moment, the eight of us retreated to a high sand berm, where a quadcopter drone hovered above us for about an hour. Around ten meters away, other soldiers were stationed on a sand berm opposite us and fired several shots in front of us. We moved down toward them, raising our hands and holding the sacks we carried, until we reached an open area.  We became 10 young men and one girl. The soldiers ordered us to take off our clothes, except for the underwear, searched us, and took our mobile phones. They then ordered us to put our clothes back on, while a soldier searched the girl over her clothes without forcing her to remove them.”

Regarding the violations he was subjected to during his detention, he stated:

“They transported us to a one-dunum of land surrounded by sand berms and concrete walls, with many military SUVs inside. They forced us to strip completely naked in front of each other, and a soldier took several photos for each of us. Then a soldier took the woman and the girl behind the concrete wall, and we did not know how they were searched. The soldiers wrote numbers on our hands. Some were released, while twenty of us remained in detention. They handcuffed us with plastic zip ties and blindfolded us. At that moment, I felt they were going to execute us (that’s what I thought). Afterwards, we were transported in military SUVs to an under-construction building, which was Hamad Hospital in Tal al-Sultan neighborhood in Rafah. I managed to see where we were from under the blindfold. When a soldier noticed me trying to look, he beat me with his hand on my back. They lined us up in front of the hospital building, and the soldiers started firing between our legs to intimidate us. Then they took us inside the building, leaving 14 people on the first floor while I, along with five others, was taken to the fifth floor. One of the soldiers grabbed me by the neck and leg and told me he would throw me from the fifth floor to the ground. Another soldier came, took me from  him, and began interrogating me, asking about my residential area, the displaced people’s tents, and members of Hamas. I replied that I didn’t know anything, that I am a young boy, spending all my time at school and home. He told me, ‘You are lying,’ then tied a rope around my neck and feet and pushed me off the fifth floor. At that moment, I thought I was dead and felt overwhelming fear, but the rope was attached to a machinery (possibly a crane), so I didn’t hit the ground but remained hanging about half a meter above it. He then pulled me back up and said, ‘I will kill you.’ He left me there and returned about fifteen minutes later, bringing me back to the five detainees on the fifth floor. We stayed there until 2:00. Fourteen people, including the woman, were released, while six of us remained. They transported us in military SUVs, three in each, to the Philadelphi Axis in Rafah, where we were dropped off in an area crowded with trucks, which I believe was in eastern Rafah.

Regarding the torture during detention, one of the released children added:

“They dropped us off the military SUVs and a soldier took me between two water tanks, where he beat with his hands and stick and forced me to take off my clothes. He said to me: You are Hamas member, and you participated on October 7. I told him no. Then, he gave me a white jumpsuit and tied my hands and legs with metal cuffs. He then threw me onto a gravel ground along with the other five detainees. The soldiers beat us with their hands and military boots for about an hour. After that, a bus arrived, and they transported us while we were handcuffed. They even tied me to another detainee using additional metal cuffs on our arms. After about an hour, the bus stopped, and they dropped us off in another place, where they gave us clothes (underwear, white pants, and a gray shirt). Each of us was placed in a 1×1-meter metal cage, where it was impossible to lie down or sleep comfortably. I stayed in that cage for three days without any interrogation. We were given three meals a day, each consisting of four small loaves of bread and either a cucumber, a tomato, or an apple. The bread seemed moldy. We were allowed to use the bathroom, but only for a very short time. After three days, they took me to a doctor who asked if I suffer from any diseases. I told him that I suffer from sinusitis, and I sustained shrapnel injuries from a previous bombardment, but he did not give me any treatment. They then took me to a barrack containing four rooms with steel mesh roofs and concrete floors. The rooms had beds without mattresses and only one blanket. We were forced to remain seated on the beds all day and were not allowed to move.  During my presence in the room, a soldier beat me with a stick on my head, under the pretext that I was looking at the captains (officers). He insulted me with bad words “son of a bitch.” Once, a soldier came into the room and ordered me to clean the floor without a mop, water, or cleaning liquid, so I cleaned it with my shoe, which exhausted me. Three days later, I was taken to a 7×4 meter-concrete room, where I stayed for 4 days. It seemed like a hatchery for chicks or rabbits, with four large and very hot yellow spotlights. There were 25 detainees inside. During our detention, Israeli special units raided and violently suppressed us on five occasions. They stormed the room at around 2:00 a.m., throwing stun grenades inside, beating us with sticks, and electrocuting us. Each raid lasted approximately two hours, marked by physical assault, intense fear, and deafening noise. I still bear visible marks of the electric shocks on my left hand. While in this room, I suffered from full-body muscle spasms, convulsions, and two episodes of nosebleeds due to my chronic sinusitis. Despite repeated requests for medical attention, no care was provided—when I asked for help, soldiers mockingly told me to ‘drink water to stop the bleeding.’ Fellow detainee Imad Abu Ta’ima fainted multiple times and  temporarily lost his hearing. He was overwhelmed with worry for his family, which severely impacted his mental health.”

In his testimony about the circumstances of his interrogation, the released child stated:

“After spending four days in that room, I was taken for interrogation from 6:00. until 19:00 at the intelligence service. The interrogation lasted for a full week, with daily sessions of four non-consecutive hours, while the rest of the time was spent waiting and being transported in a military vehicle. The questions focused on Hamas, tunnels, hostages, cameras, handmade bombs, and identifying houses in my residential area. The interrogator was dissatisfied with my answers because I had no answers to his questions. He beat me with his hands while my hands and feet were tied to a chair. Sometimes the interrogation was done without anger or threats, because the investigator already knew detailed information about my family, which made me fear for them. He told me, “You are in Sde Teiman prison.” After the interrogation ended, I was taken to what is known as the “disco room,” where Hebrew songs were played loudly, and the air conditioner was set to a high temperature. I was blindfolded and my hands and feet were tied to a pipe all day. I remained there for seven days on the floor. I was given a very small amount of poor-quality food and had to eat while handcuffed. They then returned me to the previous room, where I stayed until my release. Upon our arrival at Nasser Medical Complex, the doctors examined me; I was suffering from shortness of breath and severe muscle spasms. After X-rays and a respiratory steam treatment, I felt somewhat better. Later, my father and relatives arrived and took me with them to our tent.”

These arrests and testimonies confirm that the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) have indiscriminately targeted Palestinian children, even at their most vulnerable moments—when seeking basic survival needs such as food. Driven by extreme hunger, these children were compelled to approach aid distribution centers in hopes of securing sustenance for themselves and their families. These accounts reflect the alarming scale and severity of violations against children’s rights in the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt).

What happened to the children once again indicates that the IOF have turned the aid distribution centers they established in dangerous areas under their control in the Gaza Strip into death traps for innocent civilians, including children, instead of making them safe places that provide even the most basic means of survival.

What the children endured reflects a recurring pattern faced by starving civilians who are instructed by the IOF to go to aid distribution points that are operated by them. There, they find themselves facing difficult choices: either being shot, wounded, arrested and tortured, or returning with some aid or none at all, burdened with humiliation and the degradation of their human dignity.

Since the operation of these distribution points in early May, the IOF have killed 1,121 Palestinians, 14% of whom were children, and injured more than 7,485 others.

PCHR reiterates that the mechanism of aid distribution at these centers lacks the most basic principles of humanitarian work and serves an Israeli political and military agenda aimed at killing civilians, reinforcing the policy of starvation, and facilitating the mass displacement officially announced in February 2025.

PCHR condemns in the strongest terms the targeting of children at aid distribution centers, which are supposed to be safe havens for them amid the dire humanitarian conditions across the Gaza Strip. PCHR calls on the international community to take serious and immediate action to halt these violations and the ongoing genocide, release all children in Israeli detention, and ensure respect for their human and legal rights in accordance with relevant international laws.

PCHR also calls on the international community and relevant bodies to exert immediate pressure on Israel to comply with the orders of the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which obligate Israel to take urgent and effective measures to ensure the provision of essential humanitarian aid to Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, and to permanently open additional crossings to facilitate the entry of these aid without any obstacles or restrictions.