mezan -16 April 2024

Gaza — Nareman lives with her husband, a Palestinian Authority (PA) employee, and their children, in the Al-Mukhabarat area of western Gaza City. Since the attacks on Gaza began, numerous targets in the vicinity of their house have been bombarded, with the sounds of explosions ringing loudly. Concerned for their family's safety, Nareman and her husband made the decision to move in a safer location, despite the absence of any truly safe places in Gaza.

They initially sought shelter at the Al-Rimal Clinic operated by UNRWA, where they stayed for a month, enduring harsh living conditions with little to no humanitarian aid. In mid-November, they decided to move after Israeli tanks reached  Al-Nasser Street, raided Al-Nasr Children’s Hospital and advanced to Hmaid Street, all situated in close proximity to the Al Rimal Clinic.

Sheltered by relatives in the Al-Jalaa neighborhood, they were forced to flee when the house was targeted by an Israeli attack at 6 a.m. on 2 December 2023. They proceeded on foot to Amr Ibn Al-As School in Al-Jalaa Street. While her brother and three nephews returned to retrieve bedding and blankets from the house, an Israel drone fired a missile in their direction and killed them instantly. Nareman and her family stayed at Amr Ibn Al-As School until December 24, when the school was besieged, raided, and some of its occupants were abducted by the Israeli military.

"We stayed at Amr Ibn Al-As School for about 20 days, from 2 to 24 December. On 24 December we heard loud explosions, tanks approaching and  machine guns firing at houses near the school and doors being broken down. All displaced people hid in the classrooms. At 10 a.m., the Israeli military broke into the school and asked everybody, through loudspeakers, to go out to the school yard. They divided us into two groups, one of men and the other of women. The men were stripped to their underwear. They gathered the men in lines and took them out in groups of five to the yard of the Al-Taqwa Mosque, next to the school. After that, they took the women and children to the Al-Taqwa Mosque yard in lines.

Once we arrived at the Mosque yard, one male soldier told me: "You in brown, stay next to the Mosque’s door”.There were about seven of us women there. They asked to see our ID cards. After checking them, the officer asked a female soldier to search me in an isolated place next to the mosque. The female soldier searched me while I was stripped naked and then took me back to the male officer in the yard. He asked me what I had  heard about 7 October and whether I was pleased about the events of that day. I was also asked if I had sweets. He told me that Hamas had killed Israelis and had broken through the fence. I replied that we were ordinary people,  that I was  a peaceful person and neither I nor my relatives had any links with  Hamas. 

All his questions were about Hamas members, their locations, and the places of the hostages. I had no idea about any of that. However, the officer ordered my immediate detention because I did not respond to his questions. A female soldier blindfolded me and tied my hands in front with plastic ties. They transported me with six other female detainees to the Zikim region [a kibbutz in southern Israeli] in a military jeep. I could see  the road because I was able to remove a part of the blindfold. Behind us was a military tank with machine guns directed at  us. 

They got us out of the jeep in an unknown location somewhere in Zikim. They sat us down on gravel for two hours. A female soldier blindfolded me tightly and handcuffed me with a plastic tie from behind. Then, they transported us from that place and were beating about the head and insulting us with bad words saying that we were “prostitutes of Hamas” along the way. We reached an unknown place, near the Anatout detention center, not far from the Jerusalem Mountains. While I was stepping out of the vehicle, a female soldier pushed me hard to the ground, causing injuries to my left eye and the left side of my face. 

Then, they brought me to a room where a female soldier stripped me naked and gave me gray-colored clothes. They took me to a doctor in the next room who checked my blood pressure and temperature. Subsequently, they took us to the Anatout detention center, which was a 300-meter open space container, closed from the roof and walls, with three doors. There were nine female detainees in it; each one of us had a thin mattress and blanket. We had three similar meals a day, in which bread and cheese were always served and only the quantity varied. I spent eight days in the detention center, during which time I was  not once summoned for investigation.

Every morning, the soldiers disturbed us by banging on the doors and shouting. They woke us up at 6 a.m., and asked us to stand in a line in order to check our presence and number in the detention center. We spent the whole day with hands tied in front, even when using the bathroom or eating. We helped each other so we could eat. This was our routine through the eight days I spent in the detention center.

On the morning of the ninth day officers came to count us and take photographs of us. Then they blindfolded us and handcuffed us with plastic ties from behind. The female soldier was insulting us, treating us violently and pushing us during our transportation. We were transported in a bus and dropped off at an unknown place. They took us to a doctor to check our blood pressure and temperature. At that point, one female soldier asked me to kiss the Israeli flag and I refused to do so, so she punched my head strongly with her hand. 

Afterwards, they took us to Al-Damon prison. On arrival, a female soldier removed my blindfold and released my hands, while another stripped me of my clothes and searched me. Then they sent me to the investigation room, which measured about 12 square meters. There was a table, a chair and an investigator sitting in front of a laptop. He asked me about my husband and his job, my children and my relatives. I told him that he is an employee with the Palestinian Authority in the Presidential Guard. He also asked me about the education of my children and where they study. I also told him  that we have no links with Hamas at all. 

Subsequently, they took me from the investigation room to the prison’s doctor to check my blood pressure, temperature and weight, and then took me with the others to a women's prison. In that prison there were 202 detained women from Gaza and the West Bank. They welcomed us and gave us new clothes. In that prison, they removed our blindfolds and released our hands. The detainees helped us to take a bath and assured us that everything will be fine. They also prepared pasta and eggs for us for dinner. Then I was transported to an isolation room measuring nine  square meters with five other detainees because there was no other room in the prison. That room was very bad; there was no ventilation. There was only a small window covered with metal, beside which there was a toilet.

One week later, I had my first and last interrogation session in that prison. In the investigation room there was an investigating officer wearing a military uniform. He asked me about my husband, my brothers and my husband’s family, as well as about their jobs and social relations. He accused me of threatening Israel’s security and I totally rejected that accusation. After that, he asked me about the locations of the tunnels and missile storage, of Hamas members and of military capabilities and 'hostages'. He also asked me if I had relatives working with Hamas which I totally denied, saying that I am a Palestinian civilian without any connections, and I had no responses to his questions. Later, I signed my statement and they took me back to the prison. We stayed all day in the isolation room and had only half an hour to take a bath or have a walk, and by then I was suffering from the slow passage of time in the prison. I had many attacks in which I couldn’t breathe,  and felt the need for oxygen due to the lack of ventilation. They treated me several times through an oxygen concentrator. I was also taking antidepressant medication for a certain period in the prison.

On the morning of 8 February 2024, the deputy director of the prison informed us there was an order to release us. We were delighted to hear that, for two reasons:  our suffering in the prison would end and we would be able to go back to Gaza and  I would be able to see my family again after all this time and make sure my children and my family were fine.

At 8 a.m. we were transported on a bus designated for detainees. It was divided into three sections, each with individual seats where detainees could sit without seeing one another. There were six female detainees and six male detainees on board. The bus took us to the "Anatout" detention center, where the soldiers took a two-hour break. During the journey, we could hear soldiers insulting and physically assaulting male detainees using gun muzzles or similar objects. At 11:30 a.m, the bus arrived at the Karem Abu Salem crossing. After quite a long distance, UNRWA transported us in another bus to Al-Taif school."

Nareman and all the names mentioned in this testimony are pseudonyms. The actual identities of the victims are known to Al Mezan but are not disclosed in order to protect their anonymity and ensure their safety.