‘Graves for the living’: Released Palestinian abductees offer new testimonies on Israeli jails

Newly released Palestinian abductees have stated that Israeli prisons subject prisoners to horrific conditions, describing the detention centers as “graves for the living.”

Their testimonies emerged as groups of released abductees arrived at Shuhada' Al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir al-Balah, in central Gaza.

One freed them told Al Jazeera that he spent three months in Sde Teiman detention camp in the Negev, but the period felt like decades because of the torture he endured. He said he witnessed many forms of abuse inside the prison.

During the interview, he opened his mouth to show several missing and broken teeth, which resulted from beatings by Israeli guards.

Another freed abductee, Ghith Aliyan Mohammad Abu Aoun, said he works as a fisherman and that Israeli forces kidnapped him in March while he and his colleagues were attempting to fish at sea.

He said conditions inside Israeli prisons are extremely harsh and continue to deteriorate.

Former female abductee Reem Abu Jazar, from the West Bank, said Israeli authorities deported her to Gaza, forcing her to leave behind her sick daughter and ill husband in Ramallah.

She said Israeli forces abducted her in December at a crossing, accusing her of possessing a knife and affiliating with Hamas.

Abu Jazar said Israeli authorities denied her access to a lawyer and never brought her before a court.

She said guards subjected her to strip searches, interrogated her during the night, and deprived her of sleep.

She added that the 20 days she spent there felt like years due to constant humiliation and beatings by both male and female guards, along with continuous surveillance by cameras.

She also revealed that Israeli prisons hold a large number of abducted little girls who were kidnapped over social media posts related to Gaza during the genocide. She said these girls suffer severely inside detention centers.

Abu Jazar said female abductees face degrading treatment, verbal abuse, and physical assault, adding that denial of food and water becomes minor compared to the daily humiliation.

She explained that many women are held under administrative detention without formal charges, with Israeli authorities renewing detention orders every six months.

She called on the international community to pressure Israel to release abducted children held in Damon Prison.

She described the facility as “the largest prison of torture” and once again referred to Israeli prisons as “graves for the living.

Palestinian prisoners’ rights organizations report that since the onset of the genocidal war on Gaza in October 2023, numerous testimonies have been documented highlighting a rise in torture practices.

These accounts describe such actions beginning at the time of abduction, continuing during interrogation, and persisting throughout imprisonment.

Rights groups have previously warned that torture is no longer confined to interrogations aimed at extracting confessions.

Instead, Israeli authorities have reportedly implemented methods and tools that integrate torture into the daily lives of detainees, a practice that has escalated significantly since October 2023.

Press TV’s website can also be accessed at the following alternate addresses:

www.presstv.ir