Palestine journalist reveals sexual abuse at notorious Israeli torture site

A Palestinian journalist from Gaza has described multiple instances of torture, abuse and rape that he and other abductees endured at the Israeli Sde Teiman torture camp located in the Negev desert.

Mohammed Saber Arab, 42, detailed his harrowing experiences to his lawyer, Khaled Mahajneh, during a recent visit to the site.

Arab, who worked as a correspondent for Al Araby TV, was detained from Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza amid a large-scale Israeli invasion in March.

The Commission of Detainees’ Affairs and the Palestinian Prisoners Society confirmed in a joint statement the visit by Mahajneh to Arab, who had been unaware of his location in the Sde Teiman camp until the lawyer informed him.

The statement highlighted Arab's testimony as one of many disturbing accounts from released Gaza abductees about the inhumane conditions of their captivity.

These accounts include reports of abducted Palestinians dying as well as enduring torture, abuse and rape.

Arab said that Palestinians are kept blindfolded and handcuffed 24 hours a day. He noted that for 50 days, he had not changed his clothes and was only allowed to change his pants before the visit.

Palestinians held hostage by Israel are subjected to continuous torture, physical and sexual abuse and humiliation, leading to deaths among them, he said.

Deprived of religious practices

He noted that conversations between Palestinians are prohibited, with severe beatings as punishment for violations, forcing detainees to talk to themselves and silently pray as they are deprived of religious practices.

The journalist pointed out that some Palestinians had their limbs amputated and bullets removed without anesthesia.

The Palestinians are constantly surrounded by police dogs, and only four abductees are allowed one minute in the bathroom at a time, with punishments for exceeding this limit. They sleep on the ground, using their shoes as pillows, he added.

He revealed that bathing is permitted once a week for only one minute and sleeping during the day is not allowed.

Since the war in Gaza began, the Israeli army has abducted more than 9,500 Palestinians, including women, children, health care workers and civil defence teams.

A small number have been released, while the fate of the remaining hostages remains unknown.

Israel, flouting a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire, has faced international condemnation amid its brutal offensive on Gaza since October last year.

Israel has killed nearly 37,400 Palestinians in Gaza, most of them women and children, and wounded more than 85,400 others.

Over eight months into the Israeli war, vast tracts of Gaza lay in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water and medicine.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, whose latest ruling ordered it to immediately halt its operation in the southern city of Rafah, where over a million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war before it was invaded on May 6.