Human rights organisations have condemned the mistreatment of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails, citing abuse and torture.
The captives-prisoner exchanges between Hamas and Israel, as part of the Gaza ceasefire brokered by Qatar, the United States and Egypt, have been taking place for the past six weeks on Saturday.
The main takeaway from these exchanges is the stark contrast in the health conditions of the Israeli captives, who appear relatively well, compared to the emaciated Palestinian prisoners.
To date, 1,135 Palestinians have been released from Israeli prisons, in exchange for 19 Israeli captives and five Thai workers held by Hamas.
Outside of the European Hospital in the southern Gaza Strip city of Khan Younis, friends and family members of the 333 out of the 369 prisoners released on February 15 gathered around to see their loved ones. Most of the prisoners were kidnapped and detained by Israel without any charges following the Hamas attacks on October 7, 2023.
Families searched desperately for familiar faces, but those once known and cherished now appeared almost unrecognisable.
Upon their release, the prisoners discarded custom sweaters emblazoned with the Star of David and the phrase “We will not forgive or forget,” forced upon them by the Israeli Prison Service.
Beneath those sweaters, the true cost of their suffering was revealed: bruises, open wounds, swollen limbs, disordered posture, pale skin, hair loss, and emaciated bodies. Palestinian prisoners, after enduring their time in Israeli prisons, were no longer the people they once were.
As they embraced their families, the signs of exhaustion and weakness were unmistakable—shaky hands, trembling bodies, and an overwhelming weariness that spoke volumes about the harrowing ordeals they had endured in Israeli jails.
One man, Mohammed Khaleel Al-Shaweesh from the northern Gaza Strip town of Beit Hanoun, was detained from a displacement shelter on December 10, 2003.
Speaking to local Palestinian media, Al-Shaweesh, his cheekbones painfully hollowed, said he endured “indescribable” torture in a military barrack by Israel’s fence with the Gaza Strip.
“For 45 days I was blindfolded and on my knees,” he said. “Blindfolded and shackled.’
After being transported to the Naqab prison, the severity of the torture worsened.
“All kinds of torture were there. Whatever form of torture you can think of, it is there. They [Israelis] would use electric shocks and [sic] dogs on us.”
Another released prisoner, Hazem Rajab, told Al Jazeera that he was “welcomed in hell” by the Israelis.
“It really was hell. From the first day, we were beaten up badly,” he recalled, describing the beatings as “brutal, tough, and unbearable”.
As for Abdulkarim Mushtaha, he remembers prison as a grave.
“You are lying on the ground, beaten and helpless, begging for a doctor, but there is no doctor. The Israelis would tell me, ‘you are good only as dead’.”
Inside Hamas captivity
Earlier on the same day, the military wing of Hamas, the Al Qassam Brigades, escorted Israeli captives Sagui Dekel-Chen, Alexander Sasha Troufanov, and Iair Horn to a stage at the release site in Khan Younis.
Hundreds in Tel Aviv gathered to watch the release of these captives live on a large screen, who appeared to be in good health and given gifts.
The difference in their appearance compared to those held in Gaza’s harsh conditions was striking — one group had suffered from bombings, food, and medical shortages, while the other had access to vital resources.
Dekel-Chen, who is American-Israeli, was gifted with gold earrings for his baby daughter who was born four months after his captivity.
Another captive, Alexander Turbanov also appeared in a previously made video by Al Qassam Brigades, where he was shown fishing from Gaza’s sea and eating a banana. This follows similar treatment of Hamas of previously released Israeli captives, who were all handed gifts and appeared healthy.
This includes released Israeli female soldiers who expressed gratitude for the protection they received from Israeli bombardment while in Gaza.
‘ Thanks to Al Qassam Brigades for the good treatment. Thanks for the food, water, and clothes’.
‘Welcome to Hell”: Israel’s Legacy of Prison Abuse
To date, there have been no reports about the mistreatment of Israeli captives held by Hamas. However, several human rights organisations have observed that the Palestinians released from Israeli prisons were visibly tortured and abused, with several requiring immediate hospitalisation upon their release.
The Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor condemned the inhumane treatment of Palestinian prisoners, describing the Israeli prisons as “graves for the living”.
According to the Palestinian Prisoners Society (PPS), the majority of the released Palestinians from Israeli prisons are being subjected to “systematic torture days before their release“, including “burning detainees with boiling water and urinating on them”.
Last August, the Israeli rights group B’Tselem accused Israeli authorities of systematically subjecting Palestinians to severe violence, sexual assault and rape in torture camps.
The report titled “Welcome to Hell” tortures resulted in the death of no less than 60 Palestinians in Israeli prisons in less than 10 months, including 37 from the Gaza Strip.
Meanwhile, an investigation by the Israeli newspaper Haaretz has revealed that a quarter of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli prisons have been infected with scabies in recent months.
Furthermore, according to a UNRWA report, Palestinian prisoners are “subjected to beatings, forced to lie on thin mattresses atop rubble for hours without food, water, or toilet access, with their legs and hands bound with plastic ties”.
When questioned about past abuse accusations, Israeli officials consistently claim that detainees are held lawfully, and their basic rights are respected.
Currently there are more than 10,400 Palestinians imprisoned, with at least 3,376 detained in administrative detention – which means they are held without charge, and subjected to indefinite renewal.
The undeniable conclusion is that Israel’s actions amount to torture, constituting both a war crime and a crime against humanity.
The international community must hold Israel accountable by demanding the end of enforced disappearances, the disclosure of secret detention centres, and the release of information regarding the identities, locations, and well-being of detainees.
