Palestinians who have been released under a hostage exchange and ceasefire deal between Hamas and Tel Aviv reported being tortured by Israeli forces. In the days leading up to their release, Israeli soldiers delivered additional beatings.
Under the hostage deal that was agreed to last month, Hamas is releasing Israeli captives in Gaza in exchange for Tel Aviv releasing Palestinians detained in Israel. The Palestinians have been released by Israel in Gaza and the West Bank; other detainees have been deported to third countries. The Palestinian captives show signs of torture.
“Every time prisoners are released, we find the prisoners’ bodies reflecting the level of crimes committed against them, including torture that is unprecedented in its level after October 7,” reads a statement by the Palestinian Prisoners’ Society. Indications of inhumane treatment included “Starvation crimes, systematic medical crimes, and the infection of a number of them with scabies.”
A reporter from the Anadolu Agency confirmed that released prisoners made allegations of abuse when they were released in the West Bank. Sources told Al Jazeera that one Palestinian man was moved to the hospital after he underwent surgery without anesthesia while in Israeli detention.
The group added that some of the Palestinians were dealt additional beatings after their release was secured. This was “In addition to the severe beatings that the prisoners were subjected to before their release, which continued for days according to many of their testimonies, and which in some cases led to rib fractures,” the Palestinian Prisoners’ Society detailed.
The organization went on to explain that the Israeli forces continued to inflict suffering on the Palestinians and their families after the captives were released. “Organized terrorism” has been waged “against the released prisoners and their families, through several methods that have been monitored.” The report continues, “The most prominent of which are the severe beatings that the released prisoners were subjected to, and the threats that reached the point of killing if any reception party was organized or if the family showed any sign of reception.”
Officials with the Red Cross also protested the Israeli treatment of Palestinians as they were being released.
Since October 7, Israeli forces have rounded up thousands of Palestinians and put them in detention facilities. In those prisons, several detainees have been tortured to death. The UN Aid Agency for Palestinians reported that some of its staff members were tortured into making false confessions to having ties with Hamas.
