On condition of anonymity, (W), a 29-year-old woman from North Gaza, , gave her testimony to PCHR’s fieldworker on 02 February 2024.

After October 7^th and Israel’s declaration of the war on Gaza, people started evacuating to our area. one of my married sisters came with her family of 4 and my uncle’s family of 9 as well as my aunt’s family of 10.  We all stayed on the ground floor of the building.

On 10 December 2023, we knew that Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) reached our area as we could hear gunfire and shelling.  Although IOF dropped leaflets ordering residents of North Gaza and Gaza City to go to the south, we decided to stay home because my father was overweight and on a wheel chair and we were too many.

At around 16:00 on 13 December 2023, we were surprised with IOF knocking on the door and there many of them accompanied with dogs.  My brother opened the door holding a white cloth and told them that we were civilians, mostly children and women.  IOF then raided the house and the dog attacked my eldest brother and bit his hand.  My mom tried to get the dog off him, but it bit mom.  Afterwards, the Israeli soldiers ordered all men in the house to get out and sit outside on the street.  They were blindfolded and had their hands tied behind their back while we, women, were ordered to stay in the house and sit on the floor while raising our hands.  IOF deployed all over the house, searched it, damaged the furniture and stole many things, including laptops. 

The soldiers took me to one of the rooms and ordered me to take off my clothes but I refused, so they brought 3 female soldiers, who searched me and uncovered my abdomen.  One of the soldiers asked me about the places of tunnels and “saboteurs” in the area, and I told him I did not know anything, so he threatened me saying, “you will pay the price.” He then asked me why I have not get married yet and I answered, “it is God’s will.” He laughed and asked if I was still virgin and he would know this through the soldiers.  I was being interrogated while surrounded by soldiers and at gunpoint. I was very scared and trembling, but tried so hard to hide my fear and look brave because I know that my cries and tears would not help.  They then ordered me to go back and stay with the other women, but only few seconds later, they called me again and one of the soldiers pulled me out of the house.  He blindfolded me and tied my hands behind my back along with 6 men from my family, including my 3 brothers.  They walked us to an empty building, where they severely beat up the men while they tried to touch the sensitive areas of my body and I tried to move to avoid their touching.  A tank then drove us away and then stopped to put us in an armored personnel carrier, which took us to Zikim military base.  They forced men to take off their clothes except for the underwear while I was still tied with plastic zip ties behind my back and blindfolded, forcing me to sit on the ground.  I stayed like that until the morning of 14 December 2023 when two female and male soldiers suddenly arrived and started beating me with their feet, particularly on my head.  They took off my hijab and hit me with their weapons and batons.  They then threw something on my head, I think it was a wooden chair, and for two hours, they kept beating and insulting me.

Afterwards, they brought a car and put me in the trunk.  The car travelled for more than 3 hours and then stopped at a detention site (prison). They forced me out, made me sit on the ground and asked for my name and ID number, which I did not memorize. They then unblindfolded me and took a photo of me, from which they knew my ID number.  At that moment, female soldiers arrived and took me to a room, where they forced me to take off my clothes, searched me and gave me a grey pajama that I wore without my underwear.  I asked them to give my hijab back; at first, they refused to but then one of them threw it saying, “take it you terrorist.” Moreover, I had 150 shekels with me and was wearing 2 gold necklaces and an earring, but they took it.

Later, they returned me to the detention site, which was floored with gravel and roofed and lined with barbed wires while watchtowers were all around it with soldiers on top pointing their guns at us.

They gave me a very light mattress to sleep on it, and I was alone for two days when they brought more female detainees from Gaza.  I stayed in the detention site blindfolded and handcuffed in front.  Even when I ate or wanted to go to the bathroom, they kept the cuffs in our hands. Thus, we, the female detainees, were helping each other as we became around 70.  For food, they only gave us toast with a vary small pack of labneh with a cucumber, tomato or an apple.

On 19 December 2023, I was taken for interrogation and the female soldier took off my clothes and searched me naked.  I wore my clothes again, had my hands tied and was blindfolded. The interrogation started with taking the personal data of me and all my family members in details.  I was then asked about October 7^th, names of persons involved, the places of tunnels in the area where I live and if I knew any “saboteurs.”  During the interrogation, which continued for at least 3 hours, the interrogator tried to touch my body and when I screamed, he shouted at me.  I was then taken back to the detention site, where we daily ensured obscene insults.

After spending 7 days in detention while blindfolded and handcuffed in front, IOF decided to transfer me and 7 other female detainees from Gaza to Damon Prison.  They tied my feet and another detainee’s feet together and put us on a bus that drove us to Damon.  When we arrived, I was taken into a room, where I was stripped and searched.  They then allowed me to wear my clothes and took photos of me to then walk me to the prison’s clinic.  I was asked if I had any disease or health problems and I signed a piece of paper confirming I did not have any. I was then taken for interrogation to give my personal data as well as my family’s and later they walked me to the prison, where I unexpectedly found 75 female detainees from the West Bank. The prison included rooms with 6 beds, a bathroom and 11 detainees in each.  We had only 1-hour break and then went inside the prison, where we were given 3 meals daily but the food was very bad as both rice and bread were dry while the eggs were burnt.

After a week in that prison, I was interrogated about October 7^th and persons who took part and entered Israel as well as the places of tunnels in Gaza.  They also asked if I was pro-Hamas and supported their conducts in addition to saying names and telling me if I knew any.  After the interrogation ended, I was forced to sign a paper in Hebrew as I asked them what it was about and he answered it included all what I said during the interrogation.

At around 00:00 on 31 January 2024, female soldiers took me and completely searched me. They had me handcuffed behind my back and blindfolded. I got on the bus that drove us for 3 hours when we arrived at a barrack roofed with tin, floored with gravel and lined with barbed wires. They ordered us to stay on the ground. We stayed for an hour, and they brought two packs of yogurt and bag of toast for everyone as we were 13 female detainees.

At around 01:00 on Tuesday, 01 February 2024, they came and put our belongings in our hands that were tied behind the back while our feet were cuffed with another female detainee’s feet. A bus then drove us they placed handcuffs on my feet and the leg of another captive. As sun rose, we arrived at a place not familiar to us, and they told us that it was the Kerem Shalom crossing. Before we got off the bus, we had been untied and photographed. They told us, “You will find journalists waiting for you,” threatening us of saying anything about the beating we were exposed to. We got off the bus and walked for more than an hour until we saw the UNRWA Headquarter, where we were received and taken to the Ta’if Preparatory Boys School in Rafah.

It is noteworthy that my family is still in North Gaza and the family members I have here are those who had been arrested with me.  Meanwhile, I still have a brother detained and he is a child.