According to Palestinian prisoners recently released from Israeli prisons, in the weeks following the October 7 Hamas assaults on Israel, guards subjected prisoners to collective punishment and mistreatment.
They have reported being struck with sticks, subjected to muzzled canines, and having their clothing, food, and blankets revoked.
A female inmate has reported being threatened with rape and being subjected to tear gas by security twice within her cells.
Before their release from prison, all six individuals interviewed by bustlingnews.com stated that they had been beaten.
Some officers, according to the Palestinian Prisoners Society, allegedly urinated on handcuffed inmates. In addition, six Israeli detainees have lost their lives in custody over the last week.
Israel asserts that all of its detainees are held in accordance with the law.
Mohammed Nazzal, 18, was among those whom Israel released this week in exchange for Israeli women and children who were being held captive in Gaza by Hamas.
Since August, he has been held without charge in Nafha Prison, and he claims to be unaware of the reason for his detention.
I was cordially welcomed to Mohammed's residence, situated in the village of Qabatiya, in the northern region of the occupied West Bank, close to Jenin, via a meandering alleyway.
The smoke from a dozen cigarettes filled the family reception room atop the old house; a cousin escorted the guests with a coffee carafe and a tall stack of miniature paper cups.
Mohammed, surrounded by aisles of male relatives, sat with both of his hands heavily bandaged and rigidly extended in front of him in the manner of a boxer, with only the tips of his thumbs protruding.
According to him, Israeli prison officers entered his cell ten days ago equipped with a speaker and microphone and attempted to provoke the inmates by clapping and shouting their names.
"When they saw we weren't reacting," he elaborates, "they started to beat us."
"They organized us in such a way that the youthful prisoners were placed in the front and the elderly in the rear." After capturing me, they began to attack me. They were attempting to break my legs and hands while I was attempting to protect my cranium."
The family presented medical reports and X-rays obtained from Palestinian physicians in Ramallah subsequent to Mohammed's Monday release.
We presented the X-ray images to two physicians in the United Kingdom, who verified that they depicted fractures in both hands. Mohammed was not surprised by the development.
"Initially, I was in considerable discomfort," he informs me. "Subsequently, I came to the realization that they were defective, and I ceased their usage." "I utilized them exclusively when I used the restroom."
According to him, the other inmates assisted him with eating, drinking, and using the restroom, and he refrained from approaching the officers for medical assistance for fear of being beaten once more.
The Israel Prison Service has refuted Mohammed's account, stating that he underwent a medical examination prior to his release from correctional, during which no medical issue was identified.
Additionally, the prison service issued a video purporting to capture the adolescent boarding a Red Cross transport subsequent to his release from prison, thereby substantiating his assertions.
The hands of the adolescent are not bandaged and appear to be dangling by his sides throughout the video, including as he ascends the bus; however, they remain out of focus for the majority of the clip.
Mohammed informed us that he received his initial medical treatment aboard the Red Cross transport.
A medical report issued by a hospital in Ramallah on the day of his return home indicated that if his fractures failed to repair spontaneously, a plate could potentially need to be inserted.
We requested that the Red Cross verify Mohammed's account. They stated in a statement: "If we have any concerns regarding the medical condition of detainees, we communicate directly with the detaining authorities. As a result of this discourse, we refrain from engaging in public discourse regarding specific cases.
Mohammed asserts that guard conduct within Israeli prisons has changed since the October 7 assaults by Hamas.
He claims they were kicked and struck with sticks by guards, and one officer even stepped on his face.
"Their canines accompanied them inside," he further states. "They let the dogs attack us and then they started beating us."
"Our mattresses, clothing, and pillows were seized, and our food was strewn across the floor." All individuals were in a state of terror.
He demonstrates the scars on his shoulder and back that, according to him, were caused by these beatings.
"The dog attacking me wore a muzzle with very sharp edges - his muzzle and claws left marks all over my body," he shares with me.
According to him, similar beatings occurred twice at Megiddo Prison and more often than he could count at Nafha Prison.
According to additional Palestinian prisoners with whom we have spoken, Israel's prisons underwent a comparable transformation following the Hamas assaults; they interpreted it as "revenge" against Palestinian prisoners for Hamas' actions.
According to Abdullah al-Zaghary, the leader of the Palestinian Prisoners Society, numerous inmates reported witnessing their fellow inmates endure severe physical abuse, including beatings on the face and body. Additionally, al-Zaghary had heard rumors that guards had urinated on restrained inmates.
We requested a response from the Israel Prison Service regarding these allegations. They stated that every prisoner was held in accordance with the law and possessed all the fundamental rights mandated by law.
"We are unaware of the allegations that you have made," read the statement. "Nonetheless, prisoners and detainees have the right to file a complaint that will be fully examined by official authorities."
Lama Khater, who was granted her release from prison earlier this week, claimed in a social media video that she was "explicitly threatened with rape" by an intelligence officer shortly after her late October arrest.
"I was blindfolded and handcuffed," she stated in the video interviewer. "They issued me a rape threat... The intention was obviously to intimidate me.
Israel stated that her attorney had made these allegations, which the prisoner herself had refuted. It was stated that the penal service had lodged an incitement complaint.
However, via telephone, Lama Khater informed us that rape threats had been made against female inmates, including herself, and that tear gas had been used against inmates in their dormitory at Damon Prison.
According to the Palestinian Prisoners Society, the number of Palestinian deaths in detention has increased dramatically since the October 7 attacks; six individuals have died in custody since that date.
Israel declined to provide a direct response to our inquiry, but stated that four inmates had passed away on four separate occasions in recent weeks without the prison service being aware of the causes of death.
Mohammed Nazzal, from the village of Qabatiya, reports that his hands continue to be painful, particularly at night.
His sibling Mutaz informed me that the adolescent he once knew was not back from prison.
"This is not the Mohammed we know," he reiterated. "He was enormously courageous." His heart is now shattered and filled with despair.
According to him, the Israeli army had conducted an operation in the city of Jenin, which was located 4 kilometers (2.5 miles) away, the night before. "His fear was evident."
They have reported being struck with sticks, subjected to muzzled canines, and having their clothing, food, and blankets revoked.
A female inmate has reported being threatened with rape and being subjected to tear gas by security twice within her cells.
Before their release from prison, all six individuals interviewed by bustlingnews.com stated that they had been beaten.
Some officers, according to the Palestinian Prisoners Society, allegedly urinated on handcuffed inmates. In addition, six Israeli detainees have lost their lives in custody over the last week.
Israel asserts that all of its detainees are held in accordance with the law.
Mohammed Nazzal, 18, was among those whom Israel released this week in exchange for Israeli women and children who were being held captive in Gaza by Hamas.
Since August, he has been held without charge in Nafha Prison, and he claims to be unaware of the reason for his detention.
I was cordially welcomed to Mohammed's residence, situated in the village of Qabatiya, in the northern region of the occupied West Bank, close to Jenin, via a meandering alleyway.
The smoke from a dozen cigarettes filled the family reception room atop the old house; a cousin escorted the guests with a coffee carafe and a tall stack of miniature paper cups.
Mohammed, surrounded by aisles of male relatives, sat with both of his hands heavily bandaged and rigidly extended in front of him in the manner of a boxer, with only the tips of his thumbs protruding.
According to him, Israeli prison officers entered his cell ten days ago equipped with a speaker and microphone and attempted to provoke the inmates by clapping and shouting their names.
"When they saw we weren't reacting," he elaborates, "they started to beat us."
"They organized us in such a way that the youthful prisoners were placed in the front and the elderly in the rear." After capturing me, they began to attack me. They were attempting to break my legs and hands while I was attempting to protect my cranium."
The family presented medical reports and X-rays obtained from Palestinian physicians in Ramallah subsequent to Mohammed's Monday release.
We presented the X-ray images to two physicians in the United Kingdom, who verified that they depicted fractures in both hands. Mohammed was not surprised by the development.
"Initially, I was in considerable discomfort," he informs me. "Subsequently, I came to the realization that they were defective, and I ceased their usage." "I utilized them exclusively when I used the restroom."
According to him, the other inmates assisted him with eating, drinking, and using the restroom, and he refrained from approaching the officers for medical assistance for fear of being beaten once more.
The Israel Prison Service has refuted Mohammed's account, stating that he underwent a medical examination prior to his release from correctional, during which no medical issue was identified.
Additionally, the prison service issued a video purporting to capture the adolescent boarding a Red Cross transport subsequent to his release from prison, thereby substantiating his assertions.
The hands of the adolescent are not bandaged and appear to be dangling by his sides throughout the video, including as he ascends the bus; however, they remain out of focus for the majority of the clip.
Mohammed informed us that he received his initial medical treatment aboard the Red Cross transport.
A medical report issued by a hospital in Ramallah on the day of his return home indicated that if his fractures failed to repair spontaneously, a plate could potentially need to be inserted.
We requested that the Red Cross verify Mohammed's account. They stated in a statement: "If we have any concerns regarding the medical condition of detainees, we communicate directly with the detaining authorities. As a result of this discourse, we refrain from engaging in public discourse regarding specific cases.
Mohammed asserts that guard conduct within Israeli prisons has changed since the October 7 assaults by Hamas.
He claims they were kicked and struck with sticks by guards, and one officer even stepped on his face.
"Their canines accompanied them inside," he further states. "They let the dogs attack us and then they started beating us."
"Our mattresses, clothing, and pillows were seized, and our food was strewn across the floor." All individuals were in a state of terror.
He demonstrates the scars on his shoulder and back that, according to him, were caused by these beatings.
"The dog attacking me wore a muzzle with very sharp edges - his muzzle and claws left marks all over my body," he shares with me.
According to him, similar beatings occurred twice at Megiddo Prison and more often than he could count at Nafha Prison.
According to additional Palestinian prisoners with whom we have spoken, Israel's prisons underwent a comparable transformation following the Hamas assaults; they interpreted it as "revenge" against Palestinian prisoners for Hamas' actions.
According to Abdullah al-Zaghary, the leader of the Palestinian Prisoners Society, numerous inmates reported witnessing their fellow inmates endure severe physical abuse, including beatings on the face and body. Additionally, al-Zaghary had heard rumors that guards had urinated on restrained inmates.
We requested a response from the Israel Prison Service regarding these allegations. They stated that every prisoner was held in accordance with the law and possessed all the fundamental rights mandated by law.
"We are unaware of the allegations that you have made," read the statement. "Nonetheless, prisoners and detainees have the right to file a complaint that will be fully examined by official authorities."
Lama Khater, who was granted her release from prison earlier this week, claimed in a social media video that she was "explicitly threatened with rape" by an intelligence officer shortly after her late October arrest.
"I was blindfolded and handcuffed," she stated in the video interviewer. "They issued me a rape threat... The intention was obviously to intimidate me.
Israel stated that her attorney had made these allegations, which the prisoner herself had refuted. It was stated that the penal service had lodged an incitement complaint.
However, via telephone, Lama Khater informed us that rape threats had been made against female inmates, including herself, and that tear gas had been used against inmates in their dormitory at Damon Prison.
According to the Palestinian Prisoners Society, the number of Palestinian deaths in detention has increased dramatically since the October 7 attacks; six individuals have died in custody since that date.
Israel declined to provide a direct response to our inquiry, but stated that four inmates had passed away on four separate occasions in recent weeks without the prison service being aware of the causes of death.
Mohammed Nazzal, from the village of Qabatiya, reports that his hands continue to be painful, particularly at night.
His sibling Mutaz informed me that the adolescent he once knew was not back from prison.
"This is not the Mohammed we know," he reiterated. "He was enormously courageous." His heart is now shattered and filled with despair.
According to him, the Israeli army had conducted an operation in the city of Jenin, which was located 4 kilometers (2.5 miles) away, the night before. "His fear was evident."