Various investigations about torture in detention centers

A. On October 25, 2023, the Association for Civil Rights in Israel, HaMoked, Adalah, Physicians for Human Rights-Israel, and the Public Committee Against Torture in Israel

petitioned Israel’s High Court of Justice (HCJ) to stop the violation of the basic rights of Palestinian “security” prisoners who had been arrested and tried before the war. The organizations argued that the emergency policy in this matter has been established contrary to the Prison Ordinance, and causes severe and ongoing harm to the health and minimal living conditions of the prisoners, which the State in obligated to provide.

In the petition, the organizations address the prolonged denial of the prisoners’ right to talk with their attorneys, the hours-long disconnection of electricity and water supplies, and the denial of access to medical treatment and more; this, alongside reports of severe violence. The organizations stated that this policy which amounts to cruel punishment, has been implemented with complete lack of transparency, pursuant to orders issued in obscurity, without making public the aims and contents of this policy.

In the petition, the organizations claimed that protection of prisoners’ rights and the prevention of arbitrary denial of rights, also and especially in times of war, is a vital condition for the preservation of a civilized society, which also protects the rights of those who have transgressed against it.

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On November 23, 2023, the High Court of Justice dismissed a petition by HaMoked and human rights groups to reverse harsh conditions imposed on Palestinian security prisoners after the outbreak of war. The petition was rejected without a hearing, leaving prisoners without judicial protection of their rights.

Severe Prison Conditions are denounced

The prisoners face overcrowding, the limited water, the restricted access to daily yard time and showers, the inadequate food, the bans on purchasing essential items. Many prisoners have lost 20–40 kilograms due to insufficient food. Contact with family, lawyers, and external entities (e.g., ICRC) is severely restricted.

Courts dismissed numerous prisoner petitions without thorough review, often citing procedural grounds. Some cases were dismissed due to prisoner transfers or releases, requiring new petitions for similar conditions in other facilities.

State Promises Unmet: Despite State declarations allowing minimal yard time (1 hour) and short showers (15 minutes), implementation remains inconsistent.Essential hygiene products and adequate food remain insufficient in many cases.

Supreme Court Appeals: HaMoked submitted multiple appeals, three of which were rejected.Justice Kabub noted potential for future petitions to challenge the Israel Prison Service’s (IPS) failure to meet obligations, signaling possible shifts in burden of proof. Source

B. On August 2024, B'tselem published an important report, 'Welcome to Hell: The Israeli Prison System as a Network of Torture Camps',

The Israeli human rights organisation B'Tselem collects the testimonies of 55 released prisoners and relatives of inmates who point out the mistreatment to which Palestinian prisoners are subjected. B’Tselem asserts that the Israeli prison system has transformed into a network of torture camps, operating with impunity and without accountability. The report calls for immediate action from the Israeli government to cease these practices and comply with international legal standards. The report argues that these practices contravene international human rights and humanitarian laws, including the prohibition of torture and the right to humane treatment.

The report highlights widespread practices such as physical and psychological violence, sexual assault, sleep deprivation, forced strip searches, denial of medical care, and food deprivation. Testimonies describe overcrowded cells, with some holding up to 14 prisoners intended for six, and inadequate access to basic necessities. These actions are described as part of a deliberate and institutionalized policy. All of these pre-existing torture increased in every detention facilities since October 7, as a retaliation and collective punishment policy.

B’Tselem criticizes the Israeli government's use of emergency regulations to justify the suspension of legal rights, including the denial of access to legal counsel and family visits. This has led to prolonged periods without judicial review, effectively isolating detainees from external oversight.

D. On October 2024, an article is released on Haaretz

On the night of September 18–19, 2024, Israeli forces raided the Al-Fawar refugee camp in the West Bank, a remote settlement with no local armed groups. About 30 residents were detained, with 27 released the next day. Soldiers stormed homes in the early hours, breaking doors and windows, confiscating IDs and phones, and forcing families to kneel.

Residents reported widespread physical and psychological abuse, including beatings, sexualized humiliation, threats to expel family members to Gaza, and destruction of property. Disabled and elderly residents were not spared, and food and medication were thrown away or taken.

The raid left families traumatized, compounding the ongoing economic hardship, partial siege, and daily insecurity that continue to affect the camp. While the IDF described the operation as targeting “terror activists,” local accounts depict a night of intimidation and systematic abuse, highlighting the persistent vulnerability of Palestinian civilians in Al-Fawar

E. On November 20, 2024, Statement of Francesca Albanese, UN Special Rapporteur oPt:

"Multiple reports appeared this year have revealed shocking facts and abuses at the Sde Teiman detention center, where Palestinians kidnapped in Gaza are held without charge/trial, reportedly mistreated, abused and even raped. Despite the serious allegations, in September the Israeli High Court of Justice ruled to keep Sde Teiman open, while instructing compliance with the Detainees' Rights Law (which does not stand int'l law scrutiny).

Two important considerations:

1. There is an urgent call for @ICRC, the European Union, and other officials to inspect any Israeli facilities where Palestinians are detained, reportedly mistreated/brutally abused and often killed.

2. While the reported facts about the treatment of Palestinian detainees may qualify as war crimes & crimes against humanity under the Rome Statute, they should be considered holistically as part of the totality of conduct revealing the intent of a state to commit genocide. This is discussed in my recent report to the UN: Genocide as Colonial Erasure."

F. On November 24, an article published on Hebrew newspaper Haaretz:

A quarter of Palestinian prisoners have been infected with scabies in recent months following a widespread outbreak in occupation prisons.

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G. On December 23, 2024, the +972mag released an investigation article "‘My hands are paralyzed from torture’:

Gazans reveal horrors of Ofer Camp" sheds light on the brutal conditions faced by Palestinian detainees at Israel’s Ofer Camp, a facility established during the ongoing conflict. Testimonies from detainees, shared with Israeli human rights group HaMoked, describe severe physical abuse, including regular beatings, electric shocks, and handcuffing for 24 hours a day.

Detainees are subjected to forced kneeling, beatings, and electric shocks, with minimal food and hygiene. The camp, located in the West Bank, is home to Palestinians classified as “unlawful combatants” and is part of Israel's detention system for individuals accused of supporting terrorism. Lawyers report that detainees are often subjected to long periods of shackling and overcrowded cells, leading to significant health issues, including skin diseases and extreme weight loss. Many detainees, like Rami, are released without charges after enduring intense physical and psychological suffering. Despite Israeli claims that conditions comply with legal standards, testimonies highlight systemic torture and violation of detainees’ rights. One detainee, Rafiq, reported that his hands became paralyzed due to torture, and others suffer from severe physical and mental trauma. The conditions have drawn international concern, although media coverage of Ofer Camp remains limited.

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**H. On October 14, 2025, The Guardian published an article titled “'Cruellest forms of torture': freed Palestinians describe horrors of Israeli jail” (October 14, 2025) **

The Guardian details the harrowing experiences of Palestinian detainees, including Naseem al-Radee and Mohammed al-Asaliya, who were recently released from Israeli prisons after spending over 22 months in detention without formal charges. Their accounts reveal systematic torture, medical neglect, and inhumane living conditions such as overcrowded cells, lack of medical care, contaminated food, and deliberate abuse including beatings, psychological torture, and starvation. Al-Radee and al-Asaliya describe physical and emotional trauma inflicted by guards using dogs, pepper spray, and cold exposure, along with psychological tactics like constant loud music. Both suffered severe weight loss and health deterioration. Eyad Qaddih, a hospital official in Gaza, confirmed that many released detainees exhibited visible signs of torture and required emergency care. Legal changes following the October 2023 Hamas attack have facilitated mass administrative detentions of Gaza residents, with human rights groups like B’Tselem and PCATI denouncing the spike in prisoner abuse as a deliberate Israeli policy. Despite surviving prison, Radee faced a final devastating loss—his wife and most of his children were killed during his detention. The article underscores the deep physical and psychological toll of incarceration under current Israeli practices.

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I. On October 18, 2025, AL Jazeera complied the testimonies about torture in the framework of the exchanges of hostages and the return of 135 Palestinian bodies.

Torture and Abuse of Palestinian Prisoners by Israel (Al Jazeera, Oct 18, 2025):

Testimonies from released Palestinian prisoners and the condition of bodies returned to Gaza reveal severe torture, abuse, and possible executions in Israeli custody. 135 bodies were handed back, many blindfolded, bound, burned, or mutilated, with some still showing signs of restraint. Palestinian officials and rights groups accuse Israel of systematic torture, calling it a war crime. The Palestinian Health Ministry said several corpses bore signs of beating, burning, or missing organs. Human rights organizations, including Physicians for Human Rights Israel, reported hundreds of documented torture cases and deaths from beatings or medical neglect. Recently released detainees described blindfoldings, starvation, sexual assault, and extreme physical abuse inside facilities like Sde Teiman, where a video showed guards gang-raping a prisoner. Others emerged emaciated, bruised, or disabled, including one man who lost his eyesight from beatings. About 9,000 Palestinians remain imprisoned, including Marwan Barghouti, who allegedly suffered a brutal beating in September. Far-right minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who oversees prisons, has publicly encouraged harsher treatment of detainees, saying that “summer camps for terrorists are over.” Israel has not commented on the allegations, while the Red Cross only confirmed its role in transferring the bodies.

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J. On October 31, 2025, The International Committee of the Red Cross has rejected Israeli allegations that visits to Palestinian detainees pose a security threat.**

On Wednesday October 29, Defense Minister Israel Katz banned the ICRC from visiting Palestinians held under a law allowing indefinite detention. Katz said the visits, halted since the Gaza war began, would “seriously harm the state’s security”. But ICRC director-general Pierre Krahenbuhl said on Friday there was “no way in which our visits can pose a security threat or a national security threat” to Israel.

On November 8, 2025, The Guardian published a piece about the infamous Rakefet Detention center.

"Israel’s underground jail, wher Palestinians are held without charge and never see daylight"

The piece describes how prisoners from the Gaza Strip are being held by Israel in an underground detention facility known as Rakefet prison (part of a prison complex in Ramla). Detainees include civilians (for example a nurse and a young food-seller) held without charge or trial, for months, under wartime powers. Conditions are described as extremely harsh: windowless underground cells, little or no natural light, minimal ventilation, very limited time outside the cell, beds removed early and returned late, inadequate food, and reports of beatings, dog attacks, shackling. The facility was originally designed in the 1980s for a handful of high-security organised-crime prisoners, closed in 1985 because it was considered inhumane. It was reopened after the 7 October 2023 attacks, under the orders of far-right Security Minister Itamar Ben‑Gvir. Human rights lawyers from the Public Committee Against Torture in Israel (PCATI) visited detainees and reported the conditions, noting particularly the psychological and physical harm of being underground without daylight. The Israeli authorities (Israeli Prison Service / justice ministry / military) did not respond or gave minimal comment, saying the prison “operates in accordance with the law” and that the IPS is not responsible for detention policy. According to PCATI, even after a large prisoner-release under a ceasefire in October 2025, at least 1,000 Palestinians remain held in these conditions.

On November 17, 2025 Physicians for Human Rights–Israel released a new report: "Daeths of Palestinian in Israeli custody:enforced disappearances, systematic killings and cover-up"

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A new report by Physicians for Human Rights–Israel, combined with leaked Israeli military intelligence data, reveals that at least 98 Palestinians have died in Israeli custody since October 7, 2023 — a major increase compared to previous years. Many deaths appear to result from torture, severe beatings, medical neglect, starvation, and lack of treatment, according to autopsy reports and testimonies from former detainees. Most of the dead were from Gaza, and only about one-third were classified by the Israeli army as militants, meaning dozens of civilians died while detained. Human rights groups believe the real number is higher, as hundreds of detained Palestinians remain unaccounted for and Israel has stopped providing regular updates. The Sde Teiman detention facility is identified as the deadliest, with 29 deaths, but fatalities occurred across multiple prisons and military camps. Autopsy evidence includes broken ribs, organ tears, extreme malnutrition, and untreated medical conditions such as diabetes and cancer. Despite nearly 100 documented deaths and extensive evidence of abuse — including sexual violence, beatings, and medical deprivation — only one Israeli soldier has been prosecuted, receiving a seven-month sentence. Investigations into deaths in custody have largely been avoided by senior military legal officials. Families in Gaza often learn of relatives’ deaths through the media, not through official notifications, and identities of some deceased detainees remain unknown. Human rights groups describe the situation as systemic, not isolated, and warn that without accountability the abuses will continue.