600 days since the genocide: The cries of Gaza detainees in the hell of Israeli prisons

Bin Muammar Al-Hajj Issa

While the scars of the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip are still evident in every stone, street, and camp, other chapters are unfolding, no less brutal than the scene of destruction...these are the testimonies of Palestinian detainees from Gaza, who are still languishing in the occupation's camps and prisons, bitterly recounting stories that transcend the bounds of human pain.

Six hundred days have passed since the genocidal massacre in Gaza, but what lies hidden in the cells of Sde Teiman and Ofer prisons is even more horrific. There, the torture machine continues its cold, silent, and malicious mission on bodies exhausted by shackles, isolation, and abuse.
Legal teams from the Prisoners' Affairs Commission and the Palestinian Prisoners' Club conducted a series of visits to detainees in Gaza during the month of May, revealing shocking scenes of a reality that no longer meets even the most basic standards of human dignity. The detainees' accounts reveal a systematic system of torture that begins at the moment of arrest, continues through interrogation, and extends to the deadly details of daily life inside the camps.
Detainee Y.S. recounts: "They stripped me naked, filmed me on the phone, and threatened me with a four-hour "disco" interrogation. For twenty days, I didn't remove the handcuffs, and each court session lasted no more than three minutes over the phone. I've only changed my clothes once since arriving in Sde Teman. We don't have any food, and we eat with our hands like animals."
Detainee "M.D." says they are held in shacks, forbidden from speaking, forced to remain seated at all times, and the intensity of the assaults is determined by the Israeli soldier's mood. "Since my arrest more than three months ago, I haven't changed my clothes. We are beaten if we raise our heads, and we are humiliated at every moment."
The abuses are not limited to neglect, but extend to the use of cold water as a means of torture, and the denial of medical treatment, even to those injured.
Detainee "A.R.", who suffered shoulder and cartilage injuries, recounted: "I begged for days for painkillers, but to no avail. We are being collectively punished and humiliated in front of one another."
Detainee A.L. said, "I haven't changed my clothes for five months. We're forced to shower with cold water, we're punished collectively, and we watch our fellow inmates being tortured in front of us to intimidate us. There are no utensils or cleaning supplies, and we only use the bathroom once a day."
The Prisoners' Affairs Commission and the Prisoners' Club emphasized in their report that these testimonies are not exceptions, but rather reflect a systematic policy aimed at breaking the will of Palestinian detainees and continuing the cycle of genocide outside the bombardment, within the cells of torture, isolation, and humiliation.

The facts indicate that the number of Gaza detainees held as "unlawful combatants" has reached 1,846, according to the latest occupation statistics. This figure does not include all prisoners from Gaza, nor does it take into account the dozens of martyrs who died under torture or who continue to be victims of enforced disappearance.
What is happening in the occupation's prisons today is a crime against humanity, a crime that continues without accountability, without pictures, without voices... except for screams coming from the hell of the cells, which may not reach anyone, but they cry out: We are human beings.

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These testimonies are not exceptions. Rather, they reflect a systematic policy aimed at breaking the will of Palestinian detainees, continuing the cycle of genocide outside the bombardment, inside the cells of torture, isolation, and humiliation.