Testimonies from 55 former Palestinian detainees reveal that more than a dozen Israeli prison camps established after October 7 are dedicated to the abuse of detainees, according to a report by Israeli human rights group B’Tselem.
Israeli human rights organization B’Tselem has collected testimonies from 55 Palestinians, including 21 from the Gaza Strip, held in Israeli prisons, detailing the torture to which they were subjected.
The B’Tselem report, titled Welcome to Hell, revealed Tuesday that more than a dozen Israeli prisons have been transformed into a network of camps “dedicated to the abuse of detainees” since the start of Israel’s war on Gaza.
“Such spaces, in which each detainee is intentionally condemned to intense and unrelenting pain and suffering, effectively function as torture camps,” he said.
The violations include “frequent acts of serious and arbitrary violence; sexual assault; humiliation and degradation; deliberate starvation; unsanitary conditions; sleep deprivation; prohibition and punitive measures against religious worship; confiscation of all common and personal property; and denial of adequate medical care.”
According to B’Tselem, at least 60 Palestinians have died in Israeli custody since October 7, including about 48 people from Gaza.
The report said detainee testimonies demonstrate “a systemic and institutional policy focused on the continued abuse and torture of all Palestinian prisoners.”
This policy, he said, is being implemented under the leadership of National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, with the full support of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
“Given the gravity of the acts, the extent to which the provisions of international law are violated, and the fact that these violations target the entire Palestinian prisoner population, on a daily basis and over time, the only possible conclusion is that in committing these acts, Israel is committing acts of torture that constitute a war crime and even a crime against humanity,” the report said in its conclusion.
Call for ICC investigation
She called on the International Criminal Court (ICC) to investigate “the individuals suspected of planning, directing and committing these crimes,” saying that the investigation was not possible in Israel “since all state systems, including the judicial system, have been mobilized to support these torture camps.”
B’Tselem also noted that the number of Palestinians held in Israeli prisons has doubled to 9,623 since the start of the Gaza war.
“We call on all nations and all international institutions and bodies to do everything in their power to bring an immediate end to the cruelties inflicted on Palestinians by the Israeli prison system, and to recognize the Israeli regime that enforces this system as an apartheid regime that must end,” the group concluded.
Israeli authorities did not immediately respond to the report.
