ARAB AND WORLD
Fri 22 Dec 2023 2:40 pm - Jerusalem Time
Amnesty International calls for an investigation into the forced disappearance of Palestinian detainees in Gaza
Amnesty International called for an urgent investigation into Israel's "enforced disappearance" of Palestinian detainees from the Gaza Strip, following reports of deaths in military detention centers.
Hundreds of Palestinians are still detained in detention centers in southern Israel, after they were arrested in military operations throughout the Gaza Strip since the outbreak of the war on the Strip on October 7.
“The Israeli army must urgently reveal the fate and whereabouts of every person it has arrested since October 7,” Heba Morayef, Amnesty International’s Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa, said in a statement.
“Israeli forces must determine the reasons for arresting detainees, and make every effort to provide the families of their detainees with information, especially in light of the interruption of telecommunications that has led to the isolation of the population of Gaza.”
Amnesty International called for an investigation into the "inhuman treatment and forced disappearance" of detainees from Gaza.
The Israeli occupation army said on Tuesday that it was investigating the deaths of detainees arrested in Gaza.
No details were provided regarding the number of detainees who died or the circumstances of their deaths.
Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported on Tuesday that “many of them died” in these detention centers.
The report stated that the prisoners died at the Sde Teman base near the city of Beersheba.
The report said that detainees held in this facility “are blindfolded and handcuffed for most of the day, and the lights are on in the facility throughout the night.”
Concerns about the fate of detainees from Gaza rose last week after Israeli television showed dozens of naked Palestinian men sitting in a Gaza street in military detention.
One clip showed a soldier's arm in the foreground, suggesting that it was filmed by an army member.
In another clip, a group of blindfolded men are seen sitting with their hands tied behind their backs while Israeli soldiers watch them.
Earlier this month, the army announced that more than “500 terrorists” had been arrested in Gaza.
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Amnesty International calls for an investigation into the forced disappearance of Palestinian detainees in Gaza