Since Hamas’ unprecedented attack on Israeli soil on October 7, thousands of Palestinians – including doctors, journalists, activists, patients, residents and captured fighters – have been taken from Gaza to Israel, “usually handcuffed and blindfolded,” and thousands more have been imprisoned in the West Bank and Israel incommunicado, without being given reasons for their detention, the report said.
The report describes harsh conditions in cage-like military centers, where detainees often wore nothing but diapers for long periods. Their accounts include prolonged blindfolding, deprivation of food, sleep and water, electric shocks and cigarette burns.
Use of dogs and drowning simulations
Some detainees said dogs were set on them, others said they were subjected to water torture, or that their hands were tied and they were suspended from the ceiling.
At least 53 Palestinian detainees have died in Israeli military installations and prisons since October 7.
“Testimonies collected by my office and others document a series of appalling acts, such as waterboarding and the setting loose of dogs on detainees, among others, in flagrant violation of international human rights law and international humanitarian law,” UN human rights chief Volker Türk said in a statement.
The waterboarding or simulated drowning known as “the bathtub” is an interrogation technique that is done to prisoners by tying the hands and face, then covering the head and pouring water.
What was not common before the war, posters of missing children are now spreading in tents and some populated areas of Gaza.
Inappropriate touching
On another level, the document notes that the Israeli Security Forces (ISF) have allegedly committed acts of sexual and gender-based violence against men and women detained in Gaza and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem.
These include forced nudity, beatings while naked, including on the genitals, electrocution of the genitals and anus, humiliating and repeated strip searches, and inappropriate touching of women by both male and female soldiers.
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (HCDH) also received “consistent” information that “ISF personnel were inserting objects into the detainees’ anuses.”
Conditions in military-run detention centers appear worse, the report said, adding that children are among those held, in some cases with adults.
According to the UN, Israel has also failed to provide information on the fate or whereabouts of many people, and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) were denied access to the facilities where they are being held.
Israeli hostages also victims of mistreatment
Israeli authorities said Monday they were investigating a number of soldiers accused of mistreating a Palestinian prisoner earlier this month at the Sde Teiman detention center in the Negev desert.
OHCHR also reports on the harsh conditions endured by Israeli hostages in Gaza, citing testimonies from those who have been released. These include lack of food and water, poor sanitation and the absence of fresh air and sunlight.
Some reported being beaten during their transfer to Gaza, or witnessing other hostages being beaten while in captivity, or undergoing surgery or stitches without anesthesia. Cases of sexual and gender-based violence in captivity were also reported.
The High Commissioner reiterated his call for the immediate release of all hostages still being held in Gaza. All Palestinians arbitrarily detained by Israel must be released, he said.
Serious abuses by Israel and Palestinian armed groups
In its conclusion, the report states that there are reasonable grounds to believe that Israel and Palestinian armed groups have committed “serious violations and abuses in the context of the detentions on 7 October 2023 and since of the rights to life, liberty and freedom from torture and other ill-treatment as well as rape and other forms of sexual violence, all of which may amount to war crimes.”
The document also calls for prompt, thorough, independent, impartial and transparent investigations into all incidents involving serious violations of international law, as well as accountability for all alleged perpetrators.
Children line up for food in Gaza.
Strikes continue in Gaza
On the ground, Israeli security forces (ISF) continued their strikes on Gaza. According to the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), these bombings caused civilian casualties, caused population displacement and destroyed residential structures and public infrastructure.
On the humanitarian front, the UN Nutrition Cluster notes that 93% of children aged 6-23 months and 96% of pregnant and lactating women consume two or fewer food groups in a single day. This means that almost all households are forced to skip meals or reduce their own food consumption to ensure their children have enough to eat.
Under these conditions, more than 500,000 children under the age of 5 as well as pregnant and lactating women are in urgent need of vital nutritional assistance in the Gaza Strip.
In the meantime, UNRWA has continued to distribute flour in the southern governorates. It is also distributing food parcels in these governorates. UNRWA’s food parcels include flour, rice, chickpeas, lentils, cheese and fish.
