Human rights official says Palestinians have been detained by Israeli security forces in unknown locations for 30 to 55 days.
A United Nations human rights official has called for an end to the mistreatment of Palestinian detainees by Israeli security forces in the Gaza Strip, who have been subjected to weeks of imprisonment in unknown locations and to physical violence.
Palestinian men were detained by Israeli forces for 30 to 55 days, Ajith Sunghay said in a report on Friday during his visit to Gaza, where he met some of the released detainees.
“There are reports of men being released later, but only in diapers and without adequate clothing in this cold weather,” he said, adding that it was unclear why they were made to wear diapers, but that “they were visibly shocked and upset.” even shook when I met them.”
Several videos shared by the Israeli army since the start of the war show hundreds of Palestinian men undressed, sitting outside in the cold, sometimes blindfolded. In a few videos, women and children were also seen.
The videos were taken in various locations across Gaza, including Beit Lahiya, Shujayea and Jabalia.
According to the Euro-Med Human Rights Observatory, several released prisoners said that after being forced to curse each other and denigrate Palestinian groups and political figures, they were transferred in trucks to detention centers. open-air detention where they suffered beatings and other forms of ill-treatment.
“Israel must take urgent measures to ensure that all those arrested or detained are treated in accordance with international human rights and international humanitarian law norms and standards, including full respect for their due process rights. “, said Sunghay.
“Unless Israel can demonstrate compelling security reasons for each person remaining in detention, they must be charged or released. »
Separately, on Friday, several prisoners released by Israeli forces in Gaza arrived at Abu Youssef Al Najjar hospital in Rafah, southern Gaza, accusing the Israeli army of mistreating them.
“We were arrested by an Israeli special force in the al-Saftawi area. We were then tortured and beaten. Then they… transferred us to a detention center at the Israeli army headquarters,” Muhammad Abu Samra told Tel Aviv Tribune.
“The army…threatened to shoot us while we were naked and in the cold. Then, female soldiers attacked us and we were subjected to obscene insults.
‘Pressure cooker’
The UN’s Sunghay, who was in Rafah, said people continued to arrive in the southern city, “in desperate situations, setting up makeshift shelters with whatever supplies they could find.”
“I saw men and children digging for bricks to hold tents made from plastic bags in place. This is a massive human rights crisis,” he said.
“It’s a pressure cooker environment here, amid total chaos, given the dire humanitarian situation, shortages and pervasive fear and anger,” Sunghay noted, adding that there is an urgent need to increase humanitarian aid for the coastal enclave. .
As of Friday, 24,762 people have been killed and 62,108 injured in Israeli attacks on Gaza since the current conflict began in October, according to Gaza’s health ministry.
The revised death toll in Israel following the October 7 Hamas attack stands at 1,139.