Gazan prisoners face beatings and starvation in Israeli detention

Palestinians detained in Israel after being seized from Gaza are facing “the worst levels of torture and abuse” compared with other prisoners, according to two rights monitors, as reported by Middle East Eye via WAFA news agency on August 21st.

The Palestinian Prisoners’ Society (PPS) and the Commission of Detainees and Ex-Detainees’ Affairs collected testimonies from lawyers representing detainees, detailing what they call “severe crimes”.

Their joint report, “Enduring Hell: Gaza Detainees Face Severe Israeli Torture and Terror Behind Bars”, draws on accounts from Ramla prison and the Sde Teiman military camp. In the underground Rakevet section of Ramla, detainees reportedly endure isolation and psychological torment. Lawyers described clients who appeared “weeping and terrorised,” while one prisoner, too injured to speak, communicated only with his eyes.

The monitors said guards beat and threatened detainees before meetings, coercing them into claiming they lived in “excellent” conditions. Lawyers also face bans on sharing any news about detainees’ relatives. Notably, recent figures show Palestinians in Israeli prisons have reached the highest level in 25 years with 10,800 people imprisoned, including women and minors, by August 2025.

Testimonies highlight abuse including finger-breaking, humiliation, isolation, and prolonged stress positions. One detainee, AY, said, “I was beaten daily for 30 days straight. I currently suffer from torn chest muscles and severe pain due to prolonged shackling of my arms behind my back.” Another, YD, described being placed in a “disco” room with blaring music, before violent beatings left him with rib fractures, ear and vision damage, as well as kidney pain.

Recently, Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir was shown in released footage taunting and berating a prominent Palestinian prisoner in which Ben-Gvir said Israel will “obliterate” its enemies.

Another detainee, AB, recalled being forced into the “banana” stress position and beaten. “The interrogators would grab my testicles and beat me on them, trying to pressure me into confessing,” he said. Guards later broke his fingers.

Starvation compounds the abuse, in which one prisoners described it as “famine.” Weight loss, exhaustion, and untreated disease, particularly scabies, spread rapidly, fuelled by deprivation of hygiene and medical care.

Middle East Eye via WAFA, Maghrebi.org