Btselem / 5 December 2023

On Thursday, 26 October 2023, at around 1:30 A.M., my husband, children and I were woken by loud banging on the door. I got dressed quickly. Eleven masked soldiers burst in. One of them was a woman. They made us all go into the living room and took away all our phones. They shouted and swore at us. They were really aggressive. Some of them spread out in the house. I heard glass shattering and furniture breaking. The officer accused me of belonging to Hamas and supporting ISIS and terrorism. He swore at me. He showed me all kinds of media photos of the events of 7 October 2023, and said ISIS people raped women and burned children in settlements near the Gaza border. I told him that Islamic morals and religion forbid it. He said Israel would take vengeance on us and that all Palestinians would pay dearly.

An interrogator came in and asked me in English what I thought about what Hamas did. He swore at me and called me “whore”. He said there were 20 soldiers in the room and that they would rape me

He told my husband to start looking for a second wife because he was going to arrest me now, and that I would rot in jail my whole life. The female soldier led me outside violently. I asked her to let me go get my glasses, but she refused, so my son got them for me. I asked the soldiers to let me go to the bathroom, but they refused. I also asked to take some underwear and warm clothes, but the officer said I wouldn’t need them in jail. They handcuffed me with my hands in front, blindfolded me and took me out.

I walked about 500 meters, and then I was put on a bus. They lay me down on my back and then the bus took off quickly. A bag and other things that must have been up on the shelves fell down on me. The whole way, the soldiers made fun of me and humiliated me. When we got to a military camp, the soldiers told me to get out of the bus. They didn’t help me, even though I was blindfolded and handcuffed. They took me to a room sat me in a chair. I got my period that day, and I felt that my clothes were stained already. I asked the soldiers to let me go to the bathroom and also asked for water, but they refused. It was only after about an hour and a half that a female soldier untied my hands and took me to the bathroom. I didn’t have a sanitary pad to change. I drank a little water from the tap, and the soldier took me back to the room.

a female soldier came and took me to another room with more female soldiers, who told me: “Welcome to hell.” They sat me in a chair and started laughing at me and calling me “whore” again and again

An interrogator came in and asked me in English what I thought about what Hamas did. He swore at me and called me “whore”. He said there were 20 soldiers in the room and that they would rape me like Hamas-ISIS raped Jewish women in southern Israel. He kept swearing at me, and threatening me and my family. Then a female soldier came and took me to another room with more female soldiers, who told me: “Welcome to hell.” They sat me in a chair and started laughing at me and calling me “whore” again and again. I sat on the chair until about 7:00 A.M. I was very thirsty, but they didn’t give me water.

In the morning, I was taken outside and put in a vehicle that took me to Ofer Prison. There, I was put in a small cell, blindfolded and handcuffed. About half an hour later, they brought two more girls into the cell. I called one of the guards and begged him to loosen our handcuffs a little, but he laughed at me. He said, in Arabic, “poor thing” and closed the window.

After about an hour, I was taken into interrogation. I was sat on a chair and my blindfold was removed. An interrogator there introduced himself as Captain Salman. He started accusing me of belonging to a terrorist organization and saying I had a senior position in Hamas-ISIS and that I was inciting against the State of Israel. I denied his allegations, and then he showed me some social media posts from accounts I had no connection to. I said they were fake accounts and that I had no connection to them.

Then they put me in a vehicle and took me to Hasharon Prison. They still hadn’t given me any food or drink since I was arrested. When I got to the prison, I went through admission and then they put me in a small, dirty cell with another girl. We called a guard to bring us water to wash the cell, but they ignored us. So we flipped the mattresses over and sat without moving.

Later that evening, they brought in the two other detainees who were with me earlier. I told the guard who brought them that there was no room left to sit or lie down, but she just laughed at me. At around 4:00 A.M., they brought two more girls in, and then there were six of us in this small, dirty cell, still with nothing to eat or drink. We insisted they bring us food, so they brought us a few pieces of bread and three small containers of sour cream. We leaned against the wall the whole night, but we couldn’t sleep. It was very cold in the cell. We were kept like that until Sunday, 29 October 2023. Every once in a while, the guards brought us a little bread or sour cream, in quantities that weren’t even enough for one of us.

I asked the female guards several times to get me a pad, but they refused. While we were there, I started having terrible headaches and dizzy spells

The worst part was that the whole time, I didn’t change my pad. I asked the female guards several times to get me a pad, but they refused. While we were there, I started having terrible headaches and dizzy spells. I felt like my head was going to explode. One day, three female guards came into our cell and accused us of hiding cell phones. When we denied it, they dragged us out of the cell violently and took everything out of it, including the mattresses and a few pieces of bread we were saving, which they simply threw in the garbage. Then they took us back inside, one by one, and forced us to strip naked while they swore at us.

On 30 October 2023, at around 2:00 A.M., we were transferred to Damun Prison. There, we were put in a waiting room and each of us was taken into interrogation separately. The officer who interrogated me shouted at me, threatened me and warned me not to cause trouble in prison. Then I was taken to Unit 3 – a closed block with 55 female prisoners. That was the first time I was allowed to shower and given sanitary pads. Every day, more prisoners were added, until there were 85 of us there, all different ages. We were given very little to eat and were very hungry. There were nine prisoners in cells meant for six, and every cell only had mattresses and blankets. We weren’t allowed to buy things in commissary.

The day I was released, 30 October 2023, a lot of soldiers came into our unit. They told me and some other prisoners we were being released. We were strip-searched, fully naked, and put in a filthy room. A while later, a Shin Bet[M3] officer came and threatened me that I’d be arrested again if I spoke to the media. After that, we were transferred to Ofer Prison. We were kept there for 12 hours with nothing to eat or drink, and taken for interrogation during that time. Then they handed us over to the Red Cross.

* Testimony given to B’Tselem field researcher Manal al-Ja’bari on

On Thursday, 26 October 2023, at around 1:30 A.M., my husband, children and I were woken by loud banging on the door. I got dressed quickly. Eleven masked soldiers burst in. One of them was a woman. They made us all go into the living room and took away all our phones. They shouted and swore at us. They were really aggressive. Some of them spread out in the house. I heard glass shattering and furniture breaking. The officer accused me of belonging to Hamas and supporting ISIS and terrorism. He swore at me. He showed me all kinds of media photos of the events of 7 October 2023, and said ISIS people raped women and burned children in settlements near the Gaza border. I told him that Islamic morals and religion forbid it. He said Israel would take vengeance on us and that all Palestinians would pay dearly.

An interrogator came in and asked me in English what I thought about what Hamas did. He swore at me and called me “whore”. He said there were 20 soldiers in the room and that they would rape me

He told my husband to start looking for a second wife because he was going to arrest me now, and that I would rot in jail my whole life. The female soldier led me outside violently. I asked her to let me go get my glasses, but she refused, so my son got them for me. I asked the soldiers to let me go to the bathroom, but they refused. I also asked to take some underwear and warm clothes, but the officer said I wouldn’t need them in jail. They handcuffed me with my hands in front, blindfolded me and took me out.

I walked about 500 meters, and then I was put on a bus. They lay me down on my back and then the bus took off quickly. A bag and other things that must have been up on the shelves fell down on me. The whole way, the soldiers made fun of me and humiliated me. When we got to a military camp, the soldiers told me to get out of the bus. They didn’t help me, even though I was blindfolded and handcuffed. They took me to a room sat me in a chair. I got my period that day, and I felt that my clothes were stained already. I asked the soldiers to let me go to the bathroom and also asked for water, but they refused. It was only after about an hour and a half that a female soldier untied my hands and took me to the bathroom. I didn’t have a sanitary pad to change. I drank a little water from the tap, and the soldier took me back to the room.

a female soldier came and took me to another room with more female soldiers, who told me: “Welcome to hell.” They sat me in a chair and started laughing at me and calling me “whore” again and again

An interrogator came in and asked me in English what I thought about what Hamas did. He swore at me and called me “whore”. He said there were 20 soldiers in the room and that they would rape me like Hamas-ISIS raped Jewish women in southern Israel. He kept swearing at me, and threatening me and my family. Then a female soldier came and took me to another room with more female soldiers, who told me: “Welcome to hell.” They sat me in a chair and started laughing at me and calling me “whore” again and again. I sat on the chair until about 7:00 A.M. I was very thirsty, but they didn’t give me water.

In the morning, I was taken outside and put in a vehicle that took me to Ofer Prison. There, I was put in a small cell, blindfolded and handcuffed. About half an hour later, they brought two more girls into the cell. I called one of the guards and begged him to loosen our handcuffs a little, but he laughed at me. He said, in Arabic, “poor thing” and closed the window.

After about an hour, I was taken into interrogation. I was sat on a chair and my blindfold was removed. An interrogator there introduced himself as Captain Salman. He started accusing me of belonging to a terrorist organization and saying I had a senior position in Hamas-ISIS and that I was inciting against the State of Israel. I denied his allegations, and then he showed me some social media posts from accounts I had no connection to. I said they were fake accounts and that I had no connection to them.

Then they put me in a vehicle and took me to Hasharon Prison. They still hadn’t given me any food or drink since I was arrested. When I got to the prison, I went through admission and then they put me in a small, dirty cell with another girl. We called a guard to bring us water to wash the cell, but they ignored us. So we flipped the mattresses over and sat without moving.

Later that evening, they brought in the two other detainees who were with me earlier. I told the guard who brought them that there was no room left to sit or lie down, but she just laughed at me. At around 4:00 A.M., they brought two more girls in, and then there were six of us in this small, dirty cell, still with nothing to eat or drink. We insisted they bring us food, so they brought us a few pieces of bread and three small containers of sour cream. We leaned against the wall the whole night, but we couldn’t sleep. It was very cold in the cell. We were kept like that until Sunday, 29 October 2023. Every once in a while, the guards brought us a little bread or sour cream, in quantities that weren’t even enough for one of us.

I asked the female guards several times to get me a pad, but they refused. While we were there, I started having terrible headaches and dizzy spells

The worst part was that the whole time, I didn’t change my pad. I asked the female guards several times to get me a pad, but they refused. While we were there, I started having terrible headaches and dizzy spells. I felt like my head was going to explode. One day, three female guards came into our cell and accused us of hiding cell phones. When we denied it, they dragged us out of the cell violently and took everything out of it, including the mattresses and a few pieces of bread we were saving, which they simply threw in the garbage. Then they took us back inside, one by one, and forced us to strip naked while they swore at us.

On 30 October 2023, at around 2:00 A.M., we were transferred to Damun Prison. There, we were put in a waiting room and each of us was taken into interrogation separately. The officer who interrogated me shouted at me, threatened me and warned me not to cause trouble in prison. Then I was taken to Unit 3 – a closed block with 55 female prisoners. That was the first time I was allowed to shower and given sanitary pads. Every day, more prisoners were added, until there were 85 of us there, all different ages. We were given very little to eat and were very hungry. There were nine prisoners in cells meant for six, and every cell only had mattresses and blankets. We weren’t allowed to buy things in commissary.

The day I was released, 30 October 2023, a lot of soldiers came into our unit. They told me and some other prisoners we were being released. We were strip-searched, fully naked, and put in a filthy room. A while later, a Shin Bet[M3] officer came and threatened me that I’d be arrested again if I spoke to the media. After that, we were transferred to Ofer Prison. We were kept there for 12 hours with nothing to eat or drink, and taken for interrogation during that time. Then they handed us over to the Red Cross.

* Testimony given to B’Tselem field researcher Manal al-Ja’bari on 5 December 2023