Mohammed Abu Salmiya, the director of Gaza’s al-Shifa hospital, has spoken out about the "severe torture" he endured during more than seven months of detention in Israeli prisons. Abu Salmiya was among over 50 Palestinians released and returned to Gaza, according to a medical source in the besieged territory.
At a press conference on Monday, Abu Salmiya described the conditions faced by detainees in Israeli prisons and detention centers, stating, “There was almost daily torture. Cells are broken into and prisoners are beaten.” He further revealed that "several inmates died in interrogation centers and were deprived of food and medicine," and recounted personal experiences of torture, including having his finger broken and his head injured during beatings involving batons and dogs. He also alleged that medical staff in detention facilities participated in these abuses.
Abu Salmiya highlighted the poor medical care in Israeli detention facilities, noting that some Palestinian detainees had limbs amputated due to inadequate treatment. He stressed that thousands of Palestinians remain in Israeli detention.
Hamas, in response to Abu Salmiya’s testimony, condemned the Israeli regime, stating that the physical and psychological torture of detainees is part of a broader policy to "exterminate the Palestinian people," supported by the US government. Hamas called on the international community, the United Nations, and other institutions to take immediate action to protect prisoners and civilians in conflict areas.
According to the Gaza media office, since October 2023, Israeli forces have detained at least 5,000 Palestinians, with many detainees' fates and conditions remaining unknown.
Alice Jill Edwards, the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture, previously reported receiving accounts of Palestinians being beaten, blindfolded, handcuffed for extended periods, deprived of sleep, and threatened with violence. Edwards urged the Israeli regime to grant international human rights and humanitarian observers immediate access to detention facilities to investigate these conditions.
Human rights groups continue to express grave concerns over the "unprecedented difficult conditions" in which Palestinian detainees, including around 80 women, are being held in Israeli prisons.
