In a report titled Hostages of Israeli Revenge in the Gaza Strip, the Geneva-based rights group documents the testimonies of about 100 freed Palestinian detainees.
Strip searches and forced nudity, urinating on detainees, breaking bones and teeth, and dressing detainees in diapers are among the ten methods of torture used by Israeli forces against Palestinian detainees from Gaza, according to a new report by Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor.
In a report titled Hostages of Israeli Revenge in the Gaza Strip, the Geneva-based rights group documents the testimonies of about 100 freed Palestinian detainees.
“These testimonies confirm that the Israeli authorities and army committed horrific crimes of arbitrary detention, enforced disappearance, torture, and inhuman and cruel treatment against thousands of Palestinian civilians who were arrested as part of Israel’s genocide in the Gaza Strip, ongoing since 7 October 2023,” Euro-Med Monitor said in a statement.
Those arrested during Israel’s military incursions and ground attacks on residential neighborhoods and camps throughout the besieged enclave include women, children, the elderly and the displaced, the organization stressed.
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Ten Methods of Abuse
Among the recently released detainees “are men under 50,” 17 elderly men, 22 women and four children.
The methods of torture and abuse, along with testimonies, recorded by Euro-Med Monitor are listed below:
Strip Searches and Forced Nudity
“They forced me to take off my clothes while soldiers watched and made offensive comments…I was stripped by female soldiers who touched and groped me while male soldiers watched and commented. There were severe insults I can’t repeat and threats of sexual assault.” G, 37, a female detainee from Gaza.
Urinating and Spitting on Detainees
“The soldiers threw stones at me while I was tied up and restrained. After about 15 minutes, they dragged me and threw me on the floor, stepped on my head, and four of them urinated on me while hurling obscene insults.” MQ, from Gaza City.
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Breaking Bones and Teeth
The interrogator beat me severely…stepped on my mouth with his military boot, causing some teeth to be knocked out, and my jaw to be dislocated. Blood poured from my mouth. Three days later, they called me for interrogation again…I told them I am a woman with no provider and my only concern is to take care of my daughters. The interrogator threw a cup of hot coffee in my face, spat on me, I cried bitterly from the pain.” NK, 32, a female detainee from Shuja’iyya, eastern Gaza City
Forcing Detainees to Imitate Animal Sounds
“On the 56th day of my detention, soldiers summoned me and placed me with 100 other detainees in a cage-like prison. They beat us severely and demanded that we imitate the sounds of sheep while inside the cage.” Mohamed Khairi Daloul, 35, from al-Zaytoun, southern Gaza City.
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Humiliation by Dressing Detainees in Diapers
“Soldiers stripped me completely, put a diaper on me, and presented me to the interrogator in a very humiliating manner…I remember soldiers at the Zikim military base stripped me and dressed me in a transparent robe that did not cover my private parts before one of the interrogation sessions.” Omar Abu Medalla, from Gaza
Threats of Rape
“During interrogations, soldiers and officers threatened us with rape if we did not provide information about Hamas. This threat was repeated several times, causing immense distress to me and all the detainees. We were also threatened with never seeing our children again if we did not comply. The threat of rape was a recurring terror for me and most of the female detainees during interrogations.” NA, a female detainee from the Mukhabarat neighborhood, northwest Gaza City.
Filming Detainees & Bringing Israeli Civilians to Watch Their Torture
“They brought Israeli civilians to watch us being tortured and document it with their phones. Soldiers told civilians that we were terrorists who had killed their relatives and raped their women on October 7th. The civilians recorded our torture, beatings and humiliation while mocking us.” Omar Abu Medalla, from Gaza.
🧵Forcing them to imitate animal sounds
dressing them in diapers
and tooth-breakingAmong 42 forms of torture & inhumane & degrading treatment documented by Euro-Med Monitor based on 100 testimonies,these are 10 methods practiced by the Israeli army against detainees from Gaza⤵️ pic.twitter.com/sufwAGg5NK
— Euro-Med Monitor (@EuroMedHR) May 25, 2024
Deprivation of Sanitary Pads for Women
“I prayed that I would not get my period while in the detention cage because I saw the suffering of the women who did. There were three women who couldn’t take care of their hygiene properly during that time. When we asked for sanitary pads for them, the soldiers mocked us.” SD, 20, a female detainee from Jabaliya, northern Gaza.
Deprivation of Performing Religious Practices
“We were not allowed to pray or perform ablution. We had to pray secretly while sitting on the grounds and use dust for dry ablution instead of water.” AD, 57, from Gaza.
Electric Shocks
“I was with my mother in a house we had evacuated to in al-Zaytoun. The Israeli army raided the area and ordered men to come out naked with their hands up. I came out with the men, and the soldiers took me to a caravan for interrogation. Before the interrogation began, they placed my chest on an electric device that shocked me severely, causing intense pain while they asked questions.” MD, 15, from al-Zaytoun, southern Gaza City.
Criticism of ICC
Euro-Med Monitor said it “was taken aback” to learn that the International Criminal Court’s prosecutor, Karim Khan, disregarded the widespread and systematic crimes of torture committed by Israel against Palestinian prisoners and detainees, particularly those in the Gaza Strip.
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This, the organization said, was when he announced on Monday that he had submitted a request to the Pre-Trial Chamber to issue two arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Galat for allegedly participating in war crimes and crimes against humanity against Palestinians in the Strip.
“These accusations include war crimes and crimes against humanity against the Palestinian people, but not torture, even though there is ample evidence to support such allegations,” said Euro-Med Monitor.
The rights group stressed that “Pressure should be exerted on the Israeli authorities to release all Palestinian detainees who were arbitrarily arrested, and if they are brought to trial, ensure all fair trial procedures.”
“In addition, Israel must return the remains of Palestinian prisoners and detainees who died in Israeli prisons and detention centres,” the organization stressed.
(The Palestine Chronicle)
