Four Palestinians released as part of a cease-fire contract are in critical condition and have been hospitalized in the city of Ramallah in occupied West Bank, according to the Palestinian Red Crescent.
Israel released 369 Palestinians on Saturday in exchange for three captives in Gaza.
While the Israeli captives have generally appeared in good condition throughout the ceasefire exchange since last month, many Palestinians seemed to have lost a huge weight during their detention and some had trouble walking in reason for their poor physical condition and their physical torture.
Some have described the horrors they have faced in Israeli prisons, where most of them were imprisoned without any accusation.
It is the Palestinian engineer Iyad Abed of Gaza, kidnapped during the Israeli genocide, shown before and after being released within the framework of the fifth lot of the prisoner exchange agreement between the Resistance and Israel. pic.twitter.com/zfmky6mysq
– QUDS News Network (@qudsnen) February 15, 2025
The Palestinian prisoners’ media office said that the state in which prisoners were released show “the extent of crimes and violations inside prisons”.
One released Palestinian, Amir Abu Radah, told Tel Aviv Tribune that he had spent 18 months in the Nafha desert prison in Israel, where the authorities cut water and electricity.
“Our state in prison was extremely difficult, and no one could bear it. For the past year and a half, we have had no means of communication, and we have been isolated from the world, “he said.
“We were almost dead …”
A liberated Palestinian detainee, who was released today as part of the exchange agreement, talks about the immense suffering of Palestinians in Israeli captivity. pic.twitter.com/b4vsi5xovf
– QUDS News Network (@qudsnen) February 15, 2025
Hazem Rajab, another Palestinian released in the last exchange, told Tel Aviv Tribune the inhuman treatment he had suffered since his arrest by Israeli forces in December 2023, two months after the start of the war.
“The Israelis have told us” welcome to hell “. It was really hell, ”recalls Rajab. “From the first day, we were badly beaten. The blows were brutal, hard and unbearable. »»
According to the Nour Odeh of Tel Aviv Tribune, the Palestinians spoke of blows and ill -treatment, even in the last hours before their release.
“Palestinians freed from Israeli captivity are in very poor condition. They speak of malnutrition, to be hungry for the last 15 months, to be deprived of even hygiene products, to be authorized to shower every 10 days, “said Odeh.
“Their health is clearly ill because of these months of ill -treatment.”
While Radah and Rajab have been arrested more recently, Mohammed El-Halabi, the former world vision chief in Gaza, was imprisoned for almost nine years before being released on Saturday.
“My case was a very publicized case and I was sentenced without evidence. They wanted to use me to undermine international aid in Gaza, “said El-Halabi, accused by Israel of supporting Hamas, in Tel Aviv Tribune.
El-Halabi, physically weakened and losing a lot of weight when he was incarcerated, said he was subject to physical and psychological torture, which worsened after the war on Gaza.
“Famine occurred every day, and we only had a poor quality meal once a day. I had 95 kg (209 pounds) when I went to prison. Now I weigh 45 kg (100 pounds). »»
Since the start of the ceasefire last month, 24 captives of Gaza and 985 Palestinian detainees have been released, according to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), which has helped to facilitate exchange.
