Gaza Herald – The Palestine Center for Prisoners Studies has accused Israeli authorities of committing war crimes against Gaza prisoners, warning that ongoing abuses in Israeli detention amount to slow death and could culminate in executions under recently enacted Israeli legislation.
In a report released on Thursday, the center said detainees from Gaza are “caught between the deadly torture inflicted from the moment of arrest, which has already led to the deaths of 52 prisoners whose identities are known, and the threat of execution under the new law, placing hundreds more at risk.”
The center’s director, Riyad al-Ashqar, said interrogators from Israel’s internal security agency, the Shin Bet, subject detainees to forms of torture prohibited under international law, alongside systematic abuse and humiliation that continue even after interrogations end, to push prisoners “to the brink of death.”
According to the report, Israeli authorities continue to bar lawyers and representatives of international organizations from visiting detainees from Gaza, particularly those held in the underground “Rakevet” section of Ramla Prison, which prisoners reportedly refer to as “the slaughterhouse” because of its harsh conditions and isolation.
The report said that detainees have been subjected to severe abuses during interrogation, including electric shocks to sensitive parts of the body, attacks by police dogs, prolonged restraint under direct sunlight with their heads forced toward the ground, severe beatings, denial of drinking water, and, in some cases, sexual assault.
It further states that after interrogation, which can last for months, detainees are transferred to detention wards where they are deprived of basic necessities, including access to showers, prayer, the Quran, adequate clothing, and sufficient food. The report says prolonged food deprivation has caused many detainees to lose up to half of their body weight, while physical and verbal abuse continues.
The center also accused Israeli authorities of continuing the enforced disappearance of detainees from Gaza, including both those still alive and those who died in custody.
According to the report, more than 15,000 Palestinians from Gaza, including children, women, wounded individuals, and people with disabilities, have been detained since the start of the Israeli genocide in October 2023, with thousands later released after varying periods of detention.
It added that approximately 1,800 detainees from Gaza remain in Israeli custody under the designation of “unlawful combatants,” although the center says the majority are civilians. Among them are around 350 prisoners classified by Israel as “elite detainees” and 360 healthcare workers.
