Btselem / 23 January 2024

Before the war, we lived in the a-Sheikh Radwan neighborhood in Gaza City. I worked as a sales manager in a communications company. On 13 October 2023, the military scattered flyers calling for us to evacuate. My family, along with several other neighbors, decided not to leave for the time being.

We suffered a lot in the weeks that followed. The bombings were relentless. As time passed, there was less and less food and water, and it was too dangerous to go out to buy groceries. Some days we only had one meal, or barely even that. Things were really tough. There was no electricity and no water. We hardly slept.

My children Mustafa, 14 and Adam, 12, both have diabetes. They’re supposed to do four blood tests a day, which we did at first, but as time went by, we weren’t always able to do them. Some days we only did the tests twice a day. It stressed us out even more, because we were afraid they’d have diabetic episodes.

They didn’t let us go to the bathroom, so I had no choice but to pee in my pants. I couldn’t hold back anymore, because I have diabetes. It was very embarrassing.

On Saturday, 10 December, at 9:00 A.M., I heard Israeli tanks and bulldozers outside. They drove along the street and simply razed it to the ground. Sidewalks, stores, kiosks, everything. Then soldiers came into our building. It's a three story building and we lived on the third floor. They came into our apartment together with our neighbor, and he told me I had to turn myself in. My children were very frightened by the sight of the soldiers.

One of the soldiers talked and the neighbor translated for me. He asked for my ID number, and then he blindfolded me and tied my hands behind my back. They led me down the stairs and then they took me to the neighborhood school. I didn't know what was happening to my wife and children.

There were 13 other people with me. We were all blindfolded and handcuffed, but I could see who was there from under the blindfold. I saw the neighbor who came with the soldiers before, as well as his sons and some relatives of his. I was interrogated in Arabic at the school. The interrogator asked me if I was tied to Hamas and I said I wasn’t. He asked if I had any weapons and I said I didn’t. He swore at me the whole time, and other soldiers there pushed me, hit me, pointed their rifles at me and shouted at me.

Then they put us on a bus and took us somewhere close to the sea. They beat us there, too, and shouted at us that we were Hamas. They didn’t let us go to the bathroom, so I had no choice but to pee in my pants. I couldn’t hold back anymore, because I have diabetes. It was very embarrassing.

Sometimes, the soldiers set their dogs at us and let them walk on us while we lay face down

Some time later, they put us back on the bus. The soldiers saw my pants were wet and one of them made fun of me. They took us to a shack, put us inside and told us to crouch on the floor. We were blindfolded. We spent a week in that shack. Sometimes, the soldiers set their dogs at us and let them walk on us while we lay face down. Sometimes, they told us they had to search us with the dogs. The whole time, they brought us very little food. A week later, we were taken to another shack, and then to another.

I was interrogated once. I was asked about my family and neighbors, where my house was, and which of my relatives was Hamas. I kept telling them I wasn’t Hamas, that I didn’t belong to any organization and never helped Hamas with anything. The interrogation lasted more than an hour. During that time, every person who passed by hit me.

Every day, the soldiers ordered us to sit on our knees from 5:00 A.M. until the evening. We ate and drank with our hands tied in front of us. If we looked sideways, or even spoke to one another, they would punish us and make us stand with our hands raised for about three hours. On top of that, they didn’t let us go to the bathroom when we asked, and they didn’t always let us pray, either.

We went sleep at around 10:00 P.M. and they woke us up at 4:00 A.M. I had a hard time falling asleep. My whole body ached, especially the legs and knees, and I was very worried about my wife and kids. The conditions were very harsh and the soldiers kept shouting and disturbing our sleep. Also, they sometimes washed the floor of the shack at night, on purpose, and then it was very cold.

On 19 January 2024, the soldiers called my name at 3:00 A.M. and told me I was being released. They gave me back my wedding ring, which they took when they arrested me. At 4:00 A.M., they put me and another 50 prisoners on a bus. I was blindfolded and handcuffed. We got to the Kerem Shalom crossing, where they took us out of the bus and people from the Red Cross received us. We walked towards Rafah, to the UNRWA IDP camp, and I’ve been here ever since.

I wished every second I would die, just to stop the pain in my knees and all over my body

I was tired and exhausted. My body was shattered from pain. I thanked God that the nightmare was over. The conditions here are difficult, but there’s no comparing to what they were in detention. I’ve went through a very tough time, the hardest days of my life. I never imagined I’d be exposed to such torture and pain. I wished every second I would die, just to stop the pain in my knees and all over my body.

I haven’t seen my wife and children yet. I only found out yesterday that they’re at my brother’s house on al-Wahda Street in Gaza. They’re living in really tough conditions. There’s no food or water there. I can’t talk to them regularly because there are no phones, and they’re afraid to come to Rafah.

* Testimony given to B'Tselem field researcher Muhammad Sabah on 23 January 2024