Israeli forces beating and sexually assaulting detained Palestinians

According to a report by the British newspaper The Guardian, based on a report prepared by UNRWA, Israeli forces ill-treat Palestinians in detention centres.

The report, based largely on interviews with Palestinians released at the Kerem Shalom crossing point, where UN personnel were present to provide humanitarian support, stated that Israeli forces attempted to extract confessions from detained Palestinians through beatings, ill-treatment and threats.

Beatings, dog attacks, threats, deprivation of toilet facilities...
The ill-treatment reported in the report includes beatings, threats to harm detainees and their families, dog attacks, insults and humiliation to the dignity of the detainee, deprivation of water, food, sleep and toilet facilities, and urination on detainees.

The report also included allegations of widespread sexual assault, although not rape. Female detainees reported being subjected to sexual assaults while blindfolded, while some male detainees described being hit on their genitals.

The report stated that the beatings included beatings to the head, shoulders, kidneys, neck, back and legs with metal rods and with gun and boot butts, and that some people suffered broken ribs, separated shoulders and permanent injuries due to severe beatings.

Israeli army denies the allegations

The Israeli army, on the other hand, defended that the allegations were not true.

The Guardian newspaper reported that the statements in the report were consistent with information gathered by human rights organisations.

According to the report, Israeli forces have detained more than 4,000 Palestinians since 7 October 2023, when it launched an offensive on the Gaza Strip, and released 1002 prisoners in December, including children, women and UNRWA personnel.

The ill-treatment of Palestinians detained by Israeli forces in the occupied Gaza Strip is frequently reflected in the images published on social media.