Haaretz Exposé | 27 Gaza Detainees Have Died in Custody at Israeli Military Facilities Since the Start of the War
Detainees who have been returned to Gaza have testified about harsh treatment, including beatings and abuse by soldiers and during questioning. IDF spokesperson says the military has opened investigations into the deaths
Hagar Shezaf
Mar 7, 2024 12:57 pm IST
27 Gaza detainees have died in custody at Israeli military facilities since the outbreak of the war, according to figures obtained by Haaretz.
The detainees died at the Sde Teiman and Anatot facilities or during questioning in Israeli territory. The IDF Spokesperson's Office said the Investigative Military Police has opened investigations into the deaths. The IDF did not detail the circumstances of the deaths, but said that some suffered from prior health conditions or were wounded during the war.
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IDF soldiers drive blindfolded Palestinian detainees on a truck, in December.Credit: Motti Milrod
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Since the start of the war, the army has held Gazan detainees in temporary prison camps at the Sde Teiman base. The detainees at Sde Teiman were questioned by Unit 504. Under an amendment to the law that was passed during the war, detainees may be held for up to 75 days without seeing a judge.
Sign UpSome detainees have been released and returned to Gaza. In addition, Gazan workers with permits who were in Israel at the outbreak of the war were held at the Anatot detention camp until most were released back to the Strip. A source told Haaretz that at least one of them, a diabetic, died there, after not receiving medical treatment. In December, Haaretz revealed that detainees at Sde Teiman were held while handcuffed and blindfolded throughout the day.
Pictures later published by Haaretz revealed what the location where the detainees were held looked like, and a source there said that soldiers tended to punish and beat detainees, which matches testimonies of Palestinians who were later returned to Gaza.
They testified about beatings and abuse by soldiers and during questioning. Pictures of released detainees showed bruises and marks on their wrists from prolonged handcuffing. According to a UNRWA report published by The New York Times on Tuesday, detainees released to Gaza testified that they were beaten, robbed, stripped, sexually assaulted and prevented access to doctors and lawyers.
In late February, Azzadin Al Bana, a 40-year-old man from Gaza who suffered from serious illness before his arrest, died at a Prison Service clinic. The Committee on Prisoner Affairs stated that Al Bana was arrested at his home in the Gaza Strip about two months ago. Haaretz learned that Al Banna was first brought to the Sde Teiman base and initially held in regular detention there, and only transferred to the Sde Teiman medical facility two weeks later. About a month ago, he was transferred to a Prison Service clinic.
The Sde Teiman base where Gazan detainees are held.Credit: Eliyahu Hershkovitz
A lawyer who recently visited the clinic said that prisoners there said he suffered from paralysis and had serious pressure wounds. According to the lawyer, one of the prisoners said Al Bana appeared yellow and made dying sounds but did not receive proper treatment. Prison Service data sent to HaMoked Center for the Defense of the Individual shows that, as of March 1, 793 Gaza residents were held in jails administered by the prison service under the status of unlawful combatants. This is in addition to an unknown number of Gazans held in military detention facilities.
The IDF Spokesperson's Office said in response, "Since the start of the war, the IDF has been operating a number of detention facilities, which are holding detainees, who were arrested during the Hamas assault on October 7 or during the ground campaign in the Gaza Strip. The detainees were brought to the detention facilities and questioned. Anyone found to have no connection to terrorist operations was released back to the Gaza Strip.
Since the outbreak of the war, there have been a number of cases of deaths of detainees held at prison facilities, including detainees who arrived to detention wounded or suffering from complex medical conditions. Every case of death is investigated by the Investigative Military Police, and the findings are sent to the Military Advocate General at the conclusion of the investigation."
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