Btselem / 25 January 2024

Until the war I lived with my wife and our five children – Nasim, 19, Ahmad, 17, Maryam, 14, Amjad, 11, and Majd, 9 – along with mother, Zalfa, 89, in a house in Jabalya Refugee Camp. We had just finished building a new house and were supposed to move into it in October, when the war broke out.

Israel started bombing everywhere. At first, we stayed home and followed the developments. But after a few days, when the military declared we had to evacuate south, to Wadi Gaza, we packed just a few belongings and headed to a-Zawaydah in central Gaza, to stay with my maternal aunt.

The journey south was frightening. There were bombings, and the road was full of people walking and running around in a panic. At first we traveled by car, but when we couldn’t get any further we rented a donkey-drawn cart.

We got to a-Zawaydah and stayed there for 10 days, which was very difficult. We felt completely displaced. Instead of moving into our new home, we had to shelter in someone else’s house. We lost everything, including our sense of security and self-esteem. At my aunt’s house there were already a lot of displaced people, and there was almost no food or water. There was no gas for cooking, either, or mattresses to sleep on. It was especially tough for the kids. We decided to go home to Jabalya, hoping the war would be over quickly. But the war continued, and things only got worse. There was bombing and shelling all the time, and we couldn’t sleep. Tanks shelled houses next to us. We lived in fear, day and night. I couldn’t even go out to get food for my family. My mother, my wife and the kids insisted we leave again, so we decided to head south.

We stripped, and then they searched our clothes and threw them on the ground along with anything they found in our pockets. Then they ordered us to turn around in front of them, naked

We left home on 19 November 2023, around 8:30 A.M. We took some supplies, cash and two phones, and we took a donkey-drawn cart to Salah a-Din Street. From there, we continued on foot to the Kuwait roundabout in the neighborhood of a-Zeitoun, in the southern part of Gaza City. Then we continued walking to the checkpoint set up by the Israeli military near Netzarim, south of Gaza City. When we reached the checkpoint, my wife and kids went through, and then it was my turn with my mother. I took her hand and we started walking. We went through the inspection device, and then the soldiers called out to me on the loudspeaker to go over to them. There were several soldiers there and three tanks, surrounded by a dirt mound. I had to leave my elderly mother and go over to the soldiers. When I was about 10 meters away from them, they ordered me to stand still, and then they told me to sit down.

I stayed like that for four or five hours. It was cold. There were 30 or 40 other detainees next to me. Later on, one of the soldiers began calling four people at a time to go ahead together, and they took each group into the area surrounded by dirt mound. When we went in, the soldiers ordered us to take all our clothes off. We stripped, and then they searched our clothes and threw them on the ground along with anything they found in our pockets. Then they ordered us to turn around in front of them, naked, and get dressed again. It was very cold. We got dressed, and then they told us to go over to a large group of soldiers who were holding boxes with zip ties. They tied our hands behind our backs with zip ties, tightened them very painfully, and covered our eyes.

Then they made us kneel down on gravel, beat us, cursed us and humiliated us. They said things like, “You’re Hamas, you son of a whore, son of a bitch, your sister is a whore.” That went on for hours, until it got dark. Then they pulled us to our feet and pushed us, hitting and humiliating us along the way, towards a military jeep. They threw us in the back of the jeep. Inside, they threw something heavy on me and then a soldier trod on my tied hands, which was extremely painful. I shouted, and he hit and cursed me.

The jeep drove somewhere. When we got there, they took us out and put us in a shed. Inside the shed, they removed the blindfolds and the zip ties and ordered us to strip and put on tracks suits they gave us. It was very cold there, too. After we were dressed, the tied our hands again, took away our phones, and also took the money I had on me – 1,000 dollars and 6,100 shekels (~1,700 USD).

We were not allowed to move or speak to each other. We ate and slept with our hands tied and our eyes covered

They put me in a jeep again, with other detainees, and transferred us to a large structure that had a rough floor, like concrete, and a tin roof. The sides were open and it was very, very cold. There were a lot of detainees there. When we got there, they blindfolded us and ordered us to kneel down on our knees. I was held there for 35 days, and all that time we were not allowed to move or speak to each other. We ate and slept with our hands tied and our eyes covered. That’s how they took us to the bathroom, too. The soldiers kept shouting and cursing us, and if we moved, they would make us stand outside the fence as punishment, with our hands up, for several hours. They allowed us to sleep very little, only from midnight to four in the morning. We were given very few meals, which weren’t enough, and very little water to drink.

While I was there, I was interrogated several times. Each time, they took me by bus to another place where they interrogated me. They always took us away for interrogations at midnight, when we were exhausted from kneeling all day. In the bus there were dogs, and the soldiers beat and cursed us.

When got to the place where the interrogations took place, the soldiers made me stand with my face to the wall, barefoot on gravel, with my hands in the air, for several hours. So I didn’t sleep at all during those nights. After that, they put me in a room where I was ordered to strip and stay in my underwear. Then they took me to the interrogation room. They sat me down on an iron chair, tied and handcuffed my hands and legs to the chair, and covered my eyes.

They always took us away for interrogations at midnight, when we were exhausted from kneeling all day. In the bus there were dogs, and the soldiers beat and cursed us.

In the first interrogation, an interrogator came in, took off the blindfold, showed me my home on the computer, and asked about my work and my neighbors. He asked about Hamas and where Sinwar was. I told him I didn't know and that I worked for the PA. He asked about tunnels and other things, and I told him I didn’t know anything. He accused me of lying and said I didn’t want to be released. I said again and again that I knew nothing. He called for two soldiers, who took me out of the room and led me to a shed where they made me kneel.

After three or four days, they took me for another interrogation, which was very similar to the first one, but this time they played very loud music while we waited to be taken into the interrogation room. In the room, again, they tied my hands and legs to the chair and covered my eyes, and then an officer came in and took off the blindfold. He introduced himself as Yossi. He asked if I knew where I was, and I said I was being held by the Israeli military. He claimed I was in the custody of the military intelligence unit and asked about my cousin, Nadi a-Sayed. I said he was a doctor and my cousin. He accused me of lying and said he was a Hamas member. Then he said my two sisters, Asmaa and Iman, belong to the Islamic Jihad. Iman has a congenital brain problem and has seizures, and she was treated in Israeli hospitals. He asked where my sisters live and then he offered me to be a collaborator, but I refused. He swore at me and threatened to give me an electric shock, and then he left the room and called for another soldier to cover my eyes again. Then another interrogator came in and asked about the Falujah cemetery. I explained how graves are dug there and how many gates there are to the cemetery.

After the interrogator went out, they took me to another room where there were a male and female officer. The male officer said he would ask questions, and that I had to answer truthfully. He asked me again about the cemetery, and I gave the same answers. Then they put me on a bus, cursing and pushing me, and took me back to the shed.

I stayed in the shed for 35 days. Then I was moved to Hanegev Prison (Ketziot) with 12 other detainees. We were put in small cells, five detainees in each one. We spent the whole day on the floor or on the iron beds. There was no water in the tap, and we were given only one water bottle for every two or three people. We were given two small meals a day. After 13 days, they moved me to tents at the same prison. The tents were small and torn, and didn’t protect us from the cold and rain. We were given very little food there, too, and the soldiers treated us very badly. That whole time, we only showered once because they didn’t give us hot water.

We stayed in the tents until they released us on 12 January 24. We were several detainees together. We were transported from the prison to a military post, and from there driven to Kerem Shalom. They let us out there and didn’t give our deposits back. They didn’t give us anything, just sent us out with the tracksuits on.

After we went through the checkpoint, some UNRWA people gave us blankets and a bag with a few basic food supplies. From there, we walked to Rafah. I arrived there with nothing and had no idea where my family was. I was detained for almost two months and all that time, I heard nothing about my family. I didn’t know where to go. I didn’t have a phone and there were no communications.

I went to the a-Tibah mosque, because I heard there were displaced people there. I stayed there for nine days. It was very rough, because there was almost no food or water.

From there, I went to the a-Damam School, but they didn’t accept me because there were too many displaced people there. I then went to the a-Taef School, where they put me in a tent with other released detainees.

After a few days, I learned my mother was in the same school, my wife and daughters were in the school I went to earlier, a-Damam, and our sons were in a tent on the road outside it. We’re still in the same situation. We’re scattered, and can barely meet or talk. Everywhere is very crowded and there’s nowhere to sit. We have no money or anything else.

I was arrested arbitrarily, torture and humiliated. All that time, I never stopped thinking about my family. But when I was released from prison, I discovered a very harsh and frightening reality, filled with bombings, hunger and diseases everywhere around me. There is no security and no way to live with dignity, and the future is uncertain.

* Testimony given to B’Tselem field researcher Muhammad Sabah on 25 January 2024