With an iron chair and electric shocks.. The story of the prisoner Mahmoud whose sight was extinguished by the occupation in 'Sde Teiman'

The wounds from the amputation of his left leg were not enough to deter the Israeli machine of oppression from brutalizing the thirty-year-old Mahmoud Abu Al-Foul, who faced chapters of torment inside the notorious 'Sde Teiman' detention center. Mahmoud's tragedy began in 2015 when shrapnel from an Israeli missile hit his leg, leading to its amputation later in 2017 after strenuous medical attempts to save it.

In late December 2024, during the occupation's implementation of what was known as the 'Generals' Plan' north of the Gaza Strip, Israeli forces stormed Kamal Adwan Hospital where Mahmoud was receiving treatment. The injured young man was forced to leave the hospital walking on one leg without his crutches, to be arrested and transferred to interrogation centers in the Gaza envelope.

Inside the dark interrogation rooms, Mahmoud faced an officer devoid of all humanity, who severely beat him using an iron chair, directly targeting his head. These successive blows caused Mahmoud to lose consciousness, and upon waking, his vision gradually faded until he plunged into complete darkness from which he has not emerged until now.

Sources reported that the occupation deliberately neglected the health condition of prisoner Abu Al-Foul, as the jailers refused to refer him to specialized doctors despite his repeated pleas. When Mahmoud tried to protest his deprivation of medical care by going on a hunger strike, the jailers met his steadfastness with electric shocks and threats of humiliating forced feeding.

Mahmoud's suffering continued for eight months inside prisons, receiving only simple painkillers and ineffective eye drops, amidst the mockery of military doctors regarding his condition. The Israeli doctor would only give false promises about the return of his sight, while inflammation ravaged his eyelids, which completely closed due to deliberate neglect.

Mahmoud was later transferred to 'Ofer' prison and then to 'Naqab' prison, where he lived in harsh conditions, moving on one leg and with lost sight, which exposed him to repeated falls and collisions with walls. Mahmoud remained isolated from news of his family, who were besieged in the northern Strip, not knowing whether they had survived the continuous bombing or had ascended as martyrs.

In October 2025, with the ceasefire decision coming into effect, the International Committee of the Red Cross informed Mahmoud of his release, beginning his journey back to Gaza. The shock was severe for his elderly mother, who received him at Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis, only to find that he had lost his sight after losing his leg in previous years.

Amal Abu Al-Foul, Mahmoud's mother, says that seeing her son in this condition plunged her into a fit of bitter crying, wondering what crime he had committed to be deprived of what he held most dear. The family is now appealing to international bodies to provide urgent medical transfer outside the Strip, hoping that Mahmoud will find treatment that will restore his sight, which the jailer took from him.

Mahmoud's story is just one example of thousands of prisoners who face slow death inside occupation prisons, where statistics indicate there are currently more than 9,600 prisoners. Among these prisoners are 350 minors who live in conditions lacking the most basic elements of a dignified life and international laws.

Human rights sources confirmed that occupation prisons have witnessed the martyrdom of 326 prisoners since 1967, including 89 martyrs whose identities have been documented since the start of the genocide war on October 7, 2023. The fate of hundreds of detainees from the Gaza Strip remains unknown, as the occupation authorities refuse to disclose their places of detention or their health status.

The prisoner movement suffers from a systematic starvation policy that has led to a sharp deterioration in the weight and general health of detainees, in addition to severe overcrowding in cells. Prisoners are deprived of visits from lawyers or communication with their relatives, leaving them in complete isolation from the outside world and at the mercy of the jailers.

The Palestinian Prisoner's Day, on April 17 of each year, reminds the world of the tragedy of a people behind bars, but this year it carries a more tragic character. The testimonies given by released prisoners reveal atrocities committed daily, exceeding all red lines of international and humanitarian norms.

The scene was further darkened by the Israeli Knesset's approval of the prisoner execution law last March, which represents a green light for the legal liquidation of Palestinian detainees. This legislative escalation coincides with field practices aimed at breaking the will of prisoners and turning their lives into a continuous hell inside detention centers.

Mahmoud Abu Al-Foul remains a living witness, with his extinguished eyes, to the crimes of the occupation that do not fall by prescription, awaiting international justice that may not come soon. Popular and official demands continue for the international community to intervene to stop the bleeding of suffering inside prisons and protect prisoners from policies of deliberate killing and medical neglect.

The interrogation room and the image of the dehumanized officer were the last things Mahmoud saw before darkness fell on his eyes forever.