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Gazans detained by Israel after suffering serious injuries have told of grim conditions in captivity that in some cases have led to limbs being amputated after medical treatment was denied.
Ghassan Abu Salah was "handcuffed and blindfolded" during almost all of his 53 days in Israeli custody.
He was taken from the Palestinian Red Crescent headquarters in the city of Khan Younis in southern Gaza, where he was seeking shelter with his family after he was displaced from his own home. He was among 150 Gazans released on Monday at the Karam Abu Salem border crossing.
"I was handcuffed and blindfolded the entire time," Mr Abu Salah told The National.
"They tightened the restraints so any movement of your hands would cause more and more pain, and when we asked the soldiers to loosen them, they refused," he said over Whatsapp.
Other injured prisoners who requested treatment for their wounds were denied it and offered water instead, Mr Abu Salah said.
The Israeli army did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the claims of torture by prisoners in their custody.
Mr Abu Salah's brother Sufian, 43, who was taken with him from the Palestinian Red Crescent headquarters, was already suffering from an injured leg when he was detained. In custody, his leg became infected and swollen, Mr Abu Salah said.
"Eventually he was taken to Tel-HaShomer hospital where they amputated his leg," he said, referring to a hospital in Tel Aviv.
Earlier this month, an Israeli doctor blew the whistle on Israel's treatment of Gazan prisoners. He said prisoners were being placed in circumstances that were detrimental of their health, and said the Israeli government were at risk of violating international law.
"Just this week, two prisoners had their legs amputated due to handcuff injuries, which unfortunately is a routine event," the unnamed doctor said in a letter sent to Israel's Defence Minister, Health Minister and Attorney General, Haaretz reported.
A 12-year-old, Nimer Al Nimer, was among the detainees released on Monday. He had spent two weeks in Israeli custody. He was taken while struggling to reach aid that had been dropped in Beit Hanoun, in northern Gaza. He said Israeli soldiers shot him and arrested him.
"I was injured in my abdomen, hand, back, and legs by bullets. Then they kicked my head with their boots. They did not treat me well. They only provided me basic treatment before putting me in prison," he told The National.
The boy was interrogated and asked about his family members' "activities", he said, referring to whether they were involved with Hamas or other armed groups that Israel considers a threat.
His parents are currently in Gaza city's Sheikh Radwan neighbourhood. He has no way of being reunited with them as he remains in the south where he was released. As a result of his detention, he missed the opportunity to spend Eid Al Fitr with his family.
"I wanted to spend Eid with my family, not inside Israeli prisons. I am worried about my parents and my young sister. She used to wake me up and ask me to bring her food, I want to be reunited with them," he said.
Indoor cricket World Cup:
Insportz, Dubai, September 16-23
UAE fixtures:
Men
Saturday, September 16 – 1.45pm, v New Zealand
Sunday, September 17 – 10.30am, v Australia; 3.45pm, v South Africa
Monday, September 18 – 2pm, v England; 7.15pm, v India
Tuesday, September 19 – 12.15pm, v Singapore; 5.30pm, v Sri Lanka
Thursday, September 21 – 2pm v Malaysia
Friday, September 22 – 3.30pm, semi-final
Saturday, September 23 – 3pm, grand final
Women
Saturday, September 16 – 5.15pm, v Australia
Sunday, September 17 – 2pm, v South Africa; 7.15pm, v New Zealand
Monday, September 18 – 5.30pm, v England
Tuesday, September 19 – 10.30am, v New Zealand; 3.45pm, v South Africa
Thursday, September 21 – 12.15pm, v Australia
Friday, September 22 – 1.30pm, semi-final
Saturday, September 23 – 1pm, grand final
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
THE CLOWN OF GAZA
Director: Abdulrahman Sabbah
Starring: Alaa Meqdad
Rating: 4/5
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
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