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Palestinian detainees released by Israel last month as part of the Gaza ceasefire deal have alleged they were tortured in prison, sharing harrowing testimonies with The National of being stripped naked in the cold while blindfolded and dragged across broken glass.
About 2,000 Palestinian detainees have been freed in recent weeks by Israel in return for the release by Hamas of 38 hostages held in Gaza. The exchanges are part of a truce that brought fighting to halt in January after 15 months of war that has left the Palestinian enclave in ruins.
Human rights groups have long levelled allegations at Israel that prisoners and detainees are tortured in its jails. In a report in November 2023, Amnesty International documented inmates being stripped and beaten. The UN has gathered similar testimonies, with High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk saying last July that evidence suggested Israeli authorities may have inflicted "appalling acts" including "waterboarding and the release of dogs".
Ibrahim Al Shawish, 45, a teacher from Beit Hanoun in northern Gaza, told The National he was blindfolded and transferred between a number of unknown detention centres after his arrest in December 2023 at a Gaza school. "They stripped us naked in the cold and interrogated us under unbearable conditions," he said. "It was a living nightmare."
He was hauled naked across shards of glass, leaving his body gashed and bruised, he added, recounting his ordeal in a voice choked with emotion.
"As they dragged me, the soldiers hurled the most vile insults at me, at my family," he said. "My body was torn apart, yet they refused to provide any medical help. I suffered in silence as my wounds became infected and my pain stretched on for weeks."
The psychological toll was just as awful. "They told me that my family had been killed in Gaza, hoping to break me, to crush my spirit. I believed them – only to find out, when I was finally released, that they were alive," he said, fighting back tears.
Mr Al Shawish described the prison as a cold, oppressive place where basic human dignity was eroded. "We were shackled and blindfolded 24 hours a day, forbidden from moving or even leaning against anything. We ate, slept and relieved ourselves in the same humiliating position, completely restrained."
He also saw three prisoners perish, he told The National. "I watched them die before my eyes, victims of the endless torture and neglect. We were denied everything – clean water, comfort, basic decency. We were forced to chant in support of Israel and curse the resistance. It was a living hell."
Despite his release on February 8, he said he would "carry the scars of that torment forever".
Asked for comment on Mr Al Shawish's account of his detention, the Israeli military told The National that his claims "have been forwarded for review by the relevant authorities".
Another detainee freed last month, Ibrahim Al Ghouti, from Rafah, said torture in prison had left him with pulmonary fibrosis, a disease causing scarring of the lungs that makes breathing difficult. The illness can be triggered by exposure to toxins.
"When they finally released me, I was a shell of the person I once was," Mr Al Ghouti, 52, told The National, his voice barely a whisper. "The conditions in detention were beyond inhuman – naked, blindfolded and lost. I was struggling to breathe and they offered me no help. I was left to die, slowly."
He said he was eventually transferred to a hospital but the torture did not stop. "I was interrogated even in the hospital. The doctors – they weren’t real doctors. They were soldiers in disguise."
Mr Al Ghouti said he was arrested during an Israeli ground operation in Gaza in late 2023 and released on February 27 this year.
"The scars, the wounds – both physical and emotional – they will never fade," he said.
Another Palestinian detainee, Thabet Abu Khater, who was arrested in December 2023, said he lost a leg in prison when it had to be amputated after severe torture and medical neglect.
"It was deliberate. The neglect was meant to kill us slowly, to break us from the inside out," he said bitterly.
An injury he sustained in a prison bathroom went untreated, leading to severe infection and swelling, he told The National. "I was left to suffer, with no relief, no treatment, until they decided to amputate my leg."
He was also denied care for his diabetes, he alleged. Mr Khater described the prison conditions as "catastrophic – beyond what any human mind can comprehend".
"I thank God I am free. But my body, my soul, they carry the weight of the torture I endured," he said. "The scars are not just physical – they are a part of me now."
The Israeli military said it was "unaware of the claims" made by Mr Al Ghouti and Mr Abu Khater as "no identifying details were provided as per requested".
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'Worse than a prison sentence'
Marie Byrne, a counsellor who volunteers at the UAE government's mental health crisis helpline, said the ordeal the crew had been through would take time to overcome.
“It was worse than a prison sentence, where at least someone can deal with a set amount of time incarcerated," she said.
“They were living in perpetual mystery as to how their futures would pan out, and what that would be.
“Because of coronavirus, the world is very different now to the one they left, that will also have an impact.
“It will not fully register until they are on dry land. Some have not seen their young children grow up while others will have to rebuild relationships.
“It will be a challenge mentally, and to find other work to support their families as they have been out of circulation for so long. Hopefully they will get the care they need when they get home.”
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