btselem /17 November 2023

I’ve been suffering from issues with cartilage in my neck for several years. I had lots of treatments at the European Hospital and at a-Shifaa Hospital in Gaza City, and because I wasn’t getting better, the doctors referred me for treatment at al-Makassed Hospital in East Jerusalem. I received an entry permit from the Israelis and arrived at the hospital on 26 September 2023. I was discharged on 7 October 2023 and was supposed to go back to Gaza, but because of the attack by Hamas, Israel closed the crossings.

I went to Rahat and stayed with friends there for three days. Then I decided to go to Hebron with some workers from Gaza who had been working in Rahat, and wait there until they opened Erez Crossing and we could return to the Gaza Strip.

There were about 400 of us there, mostly workers, and they brought enough food for 50 people

When we arrived at Tarqumya Crossing, I got stopped at the checkpoint with a few other workers. The soldiers tied our hands behind our backs with zip ties, blindfolded us and made us kneel facing the wall. We sat there like that for hours. They kept swearing at us, humiliating us and shouting at us. Then they moved us to what I assumed was a military base, and made us sit in a large space that had nothing we could sit on. There were about 400 of us there, mostly workers, and they brought enough food for 50 people.

Later, I was taken for questioning. The interrogator asked me if I knew any of the people who’d entered the Israeli communities. I told him I didn’t know anyone and that I’d never even seen them. I told him I was sick and had nothing to do with any of them.

The interrogator told me several times that my family had been bombed and everyone died. They showed me pictures of the bombings and said it was near my house. I got very stressed. I was worried for my family, but I tried not to show it so they wouldn’t use it against me. Then they took me out of the interrogation room.

There were dogs in the prison yard, and the soldiers encouraged them to bark at us. It was terrifying. I tried to stay calm.

There was no flooring in that space, and we all slept on pieces of cardboard, thin blankets or directly on the dirt and gravel. It hurt to lie on that.

We weren’t given food often, maybe once every day and a half, and only a little bit. Most of the day, we were ordered to kneel

We weren’t given food often, maybe once every day and a half, and only a little bit. Most of the day, we were ordered to kneel. Once in a while we were beaten, threatened with weapons, and sometimes even shot between our legs. Sometimes, we were accused of collaborating with Hamas and participating in the attack on 7 October.

After a few days, we were transferred to another prison. We were told it was Ofer Prison. They took our money and ID cards from us there. We were treated very badly there, too. They put us in the prison yard, again on dirt and gravel, and kept us there for four days, without mattresses, blankets, or anything to cover ourselves with. My whole body hurt, especially my neck. I was really suffering.

They brought us very little food, and what they did bring – bread or dairy products in containers – they just threw at us from a distance. They swore and shouted at us every time they passed by.

I was detained like that for 23 days. Those were the worst days of my life, especially at Ofer Prison. I endured humiliation, beatings, shouting, cursing, scolding, hunger, thirst and lack of sleep. I was scared all the time. I was afraid for myself and also for my family in Gaza. I was afraid for my wife and our children and for my brothers and their families, especially after the interrogator told me my family had been bombed. I thought they were all dead. It was constant uncertainty, and it was very difficult.

I was afraid for my wife and our children and for my brothers and their families, especially after the interrogator told me my family had been bombed

It went on like that until, on Friday morning, 3 November 2023, the soldiers suddenly handcuffed and blindfolded us and put us on buses. We got to a crossing, which we later realized was Kerem Shalom. That’s where they took off our handcuffs and blindfolds, released us and told us: “Go to Gaza.” We started walking. I walked about six kilometers. I arrived home, in Rafah, completely exhausted. My whole body hurt, and it still does. I also can’t shake the sense of humiliation from the soldiers’ treatment of us and the hatred they showed towards us, even though we had nothing to do with the Hamas attack on 7 October 2023.

* Testimony given to B’Tselem field researcher Muhammad Sabah on 17 November 2023