NEWLY released accounts from detainees in Israel’s Naqab Prison reveal harrowing details of torture and dehumanisation inflicted by Israeli forces, underscoring a pattern of extreme violence.
These testimonies, shared by the Palestinian Prisoners Society and the Palestinian Authority’s Commission of Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs, detail the dire health conditions and brutal treatment faced by Gaza detainees.
Prisoners described the widespread outbreak of scabies as a weapon of torment, with many detainees suffering from sores, boils, and unbearable itching.
Detainees in the tented sections endure freezing temperatures, exacerbating their suffering. One detainee remarked: ‘The conditions make it feel like we are enduring a slow, agonising death.’
Another detainee, identified as M.R., recalled his detention in March 2024, where he was shackled, blindfolded, and physically assaulted for 24 hours a day.
He described being coerced into signing a fabricated confession after severe beatings. He added: ‘The scabies outbreak prevents any rest; the itching and pain are constant.’
Another detainee M.H., detained at Kamal Adwan Hospital, endured continuous beatings and humiliation, including being drenched in sewage. ‘The feeling was that of a living death.’ he stated.
He was held for 27 days under deplorable conditions, shackled, blindfolded, and left to suffer in silence.
The accounts also highlight the death of Ashraf Abu Warda on 29 December 2024.
Detainee J.S., who shared a cell with Abu Warda, recalled his deteriorating health due to the inhumane conditions.
‘He lost the ability to speak and stand before his death,’ he said.
Health crises in the prison continue unabated. H.R., detained in November 2024, recounted being subjected to hot water torture and later transferred to the Negev Prison, where scabies and untreated rashes caused immense suffering.
He described the lack of basic medical care, leaving prisoners to endure the worsening health conditions unaided.
Prisoners also reported the confiscation of essential items such as mattresses during the day, with their return often delayed until midnight.
This practice forces detainees to withstand freezing temperatures on bare ground, adding to their physical and psychological torment.
A.N. said: ‘The conditions are so unbearable that death feels like the only escape.’
Since the escalation of Israel’s genocidal campaign, at least 54 Palestinian detainees, predominantly from Gaza, have died in custody.
Many others remain unaccounted for, feared to have been killed under mysterious circumstances.
The Commission and the PPS stressed that these testimonies form part of a broader pattern of violent abuses specifically targeting Palestinians from Gaza.
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