‘Torture by Electrocution’ – Israel Releases 25 Detainees from Gaza

August 21, 2024

The Israeli army has released at least six more Palestinian detainees, including two women, all displaying signs of ill-treatment. (Photo: via PRCS)

By Palestine Chronicle Staff  

Israeli forces have released 25 more detainees from the Gaza Strip, including two women and an elderly man with signs of torture on his body.

The detainees arrived at the European Hospital after being released through the Kerem Shalom crossing in the southern Gaza Strip on Tuesday, the official Palestinian news agency WAFA reported.

One of the younger detainees, Yousef Al-Arir, who had blood stains on his t-shirt, described beatings, torture by electrocution and being attacked by dogs, in a video shared by the Quds News Network (QNN). He said one prisoner who was electrocuted remained unconscious for two days.

Al-Arir said they were transferred to the Ofer prison where they were also beaten and pepper sprayed.

If a prisoner talked, Israeli forces would break his hands, he added.

‘Father of Martyrs’

In another video shared by QNN, Walid Ibrahim Habib from the Shuja’iyya neighborhood in northern Gaza, displayed wounds on his arms and legs as a result of torture.

Another prisoner was seen meeting his family after months of detention. His 15-year-old eldest son Sa’er was martyred along with his daughter Joumana before he was arrested.

“Thank God, our Lord has granted me the status of the father of two martyrs: my son and daughter,” he said.

In the past months, Israel has released detainees in batches, who have confirmed in their testimonies that they were subjected to abuse, torture and harsh interrogation.

‘Inhumane practices’

An unnamed Israeli physician gave a first-hand account to the Israeli newspaper Haaretz recently of the inhumane practices detainees from Gaza were subjected to by Israeli forces at the infamous Sde Teiman detention facility, in the Naqab (Negev) desert.

The Israeli doctor, who reportedly served at the facility last winter, spoke of horrifying scenes of brutal treatment of detainees inside the medical tents.

“In one hospitalization tent, there were no more than 20 patients. All had their four limbs shackled to old steel beds, like the ones used in our hospitals years ago. All were conscious and all were blindfolded all the time,” the physician said, as reported by Haaretz.

‘No One Above Law’

The UN special rapporteur on torture, Alice Jill Edwards, last week condemned the sexual assault of a Palestinian detainee by Israeli soldiers at the Sde Teiman detention center describing it as “particularly gruesome.”

“There are no circumstances in which sexual torture or sexualized inhuman and degrading treatment can be justified,” Edwards said.

Leaked footage from surveillance cameras showed the detainee being picked out from a group of about 30 others lying bound and blindfolded on the ground. The detainee is then escorted to a corner where guards, trying to hide their act with shields, proceed to rape him.

‘Welcome to Hell’

A recent report by the B’Tselem Israeli human rights group documented testimonies from 55 Palestinians incarcerated in Israeli detention facilities.

Titled ‘Welcome to Hell’ the report indicates “a systemic, institutional policy focused on the continual abuse and torture of all Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.”

It documented frequent acts of severe, arbitrary violence; sexual assault; humiliation and degradation, deliberate starvation; forced unhygienic conditions; sleep deprivation, prohibition on, and punitive measures for, religious worship; confiscation of all communal and personal belongings; and denial of adequate medical treatment.

The organization said “no less than 60” Palestinian prisoners have died in Israeli custody.

The Israeli army has arrested thousands of Palestinians from different areas across the Gaza Strip. However, Israeli authorities refuse to give an exact number of arrests.