"Living Graves: Terrifying Testimonies of What Happens in Occupation Prisons"

July 15, 2024

Since October 7th, despite some details about what is happening in Israeli occupation prisons to Palestinians being revealed, many aspects remain hidden, particularly concerning prisoners from the Gaza Strip amidst Israeli threats against detainees speaking out about the violations against them.

This Sunday, new aspects of the torture inflicted by the occupation on Palestinian detainees have been disclosed, notably rape, death by beating, and other heinous criminal methods.

The Israeli occupation threatened journalist Mohammed Arab from the Gaza Strip, who was detained in Sdei Teiman camp and later transferred to Ofer prison, if he revealed details of what happens inside the occupation's prisons.

According to what was conveyed by his lawyer, Khaled Mahajna, Arab confirmed that one of the detainees with him in Sdei Teiman camp repeatedly pleaded with the occupation forces for treatment, yet he died after being assaulted.

Journalist Arab described detainees being raped, including one detainee who was completely stripped of his clothes and had a fire extinguisher nozzle inserted into his rear end, with the substances sprayed into it, leaving the detainee in a very poor health and psychological state.

Another detainee was completely stripped and beaten with electric shocks, and his genitals were pulled, among other methods used to sexually assault the prisoners, which are difficult to explain.

Regarding torture methods, Mahajna quotes Arab, stating that detainees are placed on the ground with their hands cuffed behind their heads, and dogs are used to bite their bodies, alongside 'ghosting' assaults that involve beatings by police dogs.

Arab mentioned that he did not know his location until his lawyer informed him during a visit, noting that he was recently transferred to Ofer prison along with 100 others who thought they were moved to camps near Gaza, highlighting that there are over 100 sick and injured detainees screaming without treatment.

In Ofer prison, Arab narrates, the prison is different in terms of appearance; the cells are concrete rooms without ventilation, containing iron beds without mattresses, pillows, or covers, and 25 detainees are crammed into each room, some sleeping on iron and others on the floor, eating while handcuffed.

Regarding the food provided to the detainees, he describes: each detainee receives 100 grams of bread, a cucumber or tomato, and a bag of yogurt, this is the amount for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

As conveyed by lawyer Mahajna, the bathroom inside the rooms is exposed to everyone, and it is a squat toilet, and cameras are placed inside the rooms opened to the bathroom, while showers are still only allowed for a minute.

In Ofer, there are two cells described by soldiers as 'hell' (cells for torture), where they cannot see the prisoners being tortured inside these sections, but they can hear the screams of the prisoners during torture.

Arab confirmed that a group of cells was recently suppressed, and all the prisoners were assaulted, with many having their limbs broken.