An Israeli soldier who served at the Sde Teiman detention camp revealed the horrific conditions faced by prisoners from the Gaza Strip inside the prison, noting that the camp was described as a "cemetery," even by its officials, according to what was reported from "higher levels."

This came in an anonymous article published in the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, written by a soldier who served in Sde Teiman and gave testimony in an investigation broadcast by the Israeli Broadcasting Authority as part of the "Real Time" program, which focused on the rape of a prisoner. He noted that the investigation did not reveal the atrocities that took place in Sde Teiman.

He said in his article: "The Sde Teiman camp, as anyone who has been there knows, is a sadistic torture camp. Dozens of detainees entered it alive and left it in bags. There are testimonies from guards, doctors, and detainees." He added: "I saw hell there."

He continued: "I saw a detainee die before my eyes. He was sitting next to other detainees, covering his face with a cloth. Suddenly, we realized he was dead. I saw the commander of the facility gather the staff and try to calm the daily routine of abuse, violence, and the inhumane conditions in which the prisoners were held. I heard him say, 'They tell me from above that they call Sde Teiman the cemetery.'"

The soldier continued his testimony, saying, "I saw people enter this facility with war wounds, then be left to starve for weeks without any medical care. I saw them urinate and defecate on themselves because they were not allowed to use the bathroom. I still remember the smell to this day. Many of them were not fighters, just Gazans who were detained for interrogation and then released after being severely abused. It is no wonder some of them died there, and it is a miracle that some survived."

The writer explained that he had submitted his testimony to the Israeli Broadcasting Authority, including many details, but that it was not presented in the broadcast version of "Real Time."

He concluded by saying: “Everyone who served in Sde Teiman knows the truth: about the torture, about the surgeries performed without anesthesia, and about the horrific sanitary conditions. Yet none of this was broadcast. What happened there is no secret, but most Israelis know nothing about it, because the Israeli media largely ignored it. Palestinians are being taken out of our detention centers in bags, and most of those around me have never heard about it until now.”