Published on 6/27/2026
On the occasion of the International Day in Support of Victims of Torture, Palestinian prisoners liberated from the Gaza Strip provided, via Al Jazeera Mubasher, detailed testimonies about the violations and systematic torture they were subjected to during their periods of detention in Israeli detention centers and prisons.
These violations included severe beatings, insults, medical neglect, and deprivation of basic rights, as they reviewed their experiences from the moment of arrest until release.
Journalist Khader Bakr Abdel-Al, a resident of Gaza City who worked as a correspondent for local and international agencies, said that he was arrested from Al-Shifa Medical Complex on March 18, 2024, after remaining in Gaza City since the outbreak of war on October 7.
He explained that the first moments of arrest included handcuffing from behind, blindfolding, and stripping of clothing, with detainees being subjected to beatings for long periods that extended for hours, in conditions he described as cruel and humiliating.
He added that the lack of international protection for journalists made them vulnerable to attack from the first moment.
Abdel-Al continued that the detainees were transported in large trucks containing about 150 people, before they were divided into groups inside small buses, where they were tied with iron handcuffs on the hands and feet, and forced to wear prison clothes.
He pointed out that the beatings were continuous during the transfer process, resulting in broken ribs that lasted for months.
Screening clinic
Abdel-Al narrated that before being admitted to a detention center, he was transferred to what he described as a place for a medical examination inside the Gaza Strip, where detainees were photographed and their data recorded.
He added that when he informed the doctor about a chronic skin disease he suffered from, he received a shocking response, according to him, saying: “I am not coming to treat you, I am coming to torture you,” before he was transferred again to places of detention.
The detained journalist spoke about the incident of the martyrdom of a detainee named Kamal Radi inside one of the departments, indicating that he was summoned and beaten for about an hour, before he was returned to the cells while he was in a critical condition.
He added that the detainee died later, and his body was placed in a black bag, while the prison authorities informed his son, who was detained in a neighboring section, of his father’s death.
Abdel-Al said that he spent 91 days in the “Sde Timan” detention center, describing that period as a “continuous series of torture,” noting that talking, prayer, and normal sleep were prevented, and the use of the bathroom was limited to a few minutes a day.
He added that the detainees were left permanently bound and blindfolded, and were subjected to punishment for the slightest movement or attempt to communicate.
He pointed out that the repression units were storming the departments on an almost weekly basis, where detainees were subjected to mass beatings without clear reasons, including during the holidays.
He stressed that this violence was being practiced far from any clear intelligence goal, but rather for the purpose of humiliation and torture only.
Torture inside hospitals
He also recalled the incident of his suffering from serious blood poisoning, as he was taken to the hospital while his hands and feet were tied under heavy guard.
He explained that he was later attacked inside the same hospital, causing him to bleed in the head, and he was forced to hide the truth about what happened to avoid further violence.
Abdel-Al confirmed that the torture methods included electric shock, sleep deprivation, and repeated transfers between detention centers, describing what happens during the transfer of detainees to courts or hospitals as continuous “tours of torture.”
He added that some of them were forced to sit in painful positions for long hours under the sun and on scorching asphalt surfaces.
For his part, the freed prisoner, Musab Amdouk, said that the detainees were transferred to rooms known as “disco” or “music,” in which high volume was played continuously to prevent sleep and psychological impact on the detainees.
He added that the torture included repeated beatings and insults, in addition to forcing some detainees to drink water in a humiliating manner.
