“Israel must immediately cease its crime of enforced disappearance against Palestinian prisoners and detainees from the Gaza Strip; reveal all secret detention camps; reveal the names, whereabouts, and fates of all Palestinians it is holding from the Strip.”
The Geneva-based Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor has described the physical and mental health conditions of the Palestinian detainees released during the seventh round of the exchange agreement between Israel and Hamas as “shocking.”
“Israel’s release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners and detainees, who arrived in the Gaza Strip recently in exceptionally poor health, illustrates its ongoing use of torture to terrorise and persecute prisoners and detainees and break their will until the very end of their detention,” the rights group said in a report on Friday.
Extent of systematic torture, atrocities endured by Palestinians in Israeli prisons is shocking https://t.co/NwBbzhfayJ
— Euro-Med Monitor (@EuroMedHR) February 27, 2025
Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor has described the physical and mental health conditions of freed Palestinian detainees as “shocking.”
“The effects of torture were clearly evident, with the emaciated bodies of the released individuals reflecting the severity of systematic crimes and inhumane treatment that exceed all legal and moral bounds,” it added.
The group emphasized that the “repeated release of such visibly unhealthy individuals from Israeli prisons reveals that the heinous torture and wilful medical neglect they endure have escalated to appalling levels.”
It noted that the “atrocities occurring in these prisons are among the worst violations recorded by human rights organisations worldwide.”
Blatant Violation of IHL
Close to 600 Palestinians were released in the exchange agreement this week, with many detailing the physical and psychological abuse suffered in detention.
“In a blatant violation of the mandatory rules of international law—which forbid torture in all its forms and under all circumstances, without exception, and consider its commission an international crime that does not expire by statute of limitations—hundreds of released prisoners and detainees arrived in the Gaza Strip after midnight in exceptionally poor health,” Euro-Med Monitor said.
📌Palestinian prisoners and detainees are subjected to shocking atrocities in Israeli prisons, where systematic torture surpasses the brutality of the most infamous detention centers in history. pic.twitter.com/G5KcWfTOJL
— Ramy Abdu| رامي عبده (@RamAbdu) February 27, 2025
It became evident, the rights body pointed out, after their transfer to the Gaza European Hospital in southern Gaza “that dozens of them required urgent medical care because their bodies showed signs of torture and inhumane treatment, including deprivation of necessary medical care and treatment.”
In addition to severe weakness and exhaustion, the Euro-Med Monitor field team documented severe injuries among detainees, “including limb amputations and severe swelling brought on by torture.”
Some appeared incapable of walking without the assistance of friends, and others required immediate medical attention because their health was rapidly deteriorating, the group emphasized.
Psychological Torture, Humiliation
Even though the majority of detainees were not charged with any specific crimes, “many claimed that they were beaten, mistreated, and threatened right up until the very last minute before their release.”
Abducted at various points across Gaza following October 7, 2023, they were “arrested or detained, tortured, and subjected to degrading treatment as part of a systematic policy designed to cause them severe physical and psychological harm.”
Freed Palestinians, who were abducted from Gaza, were released at dawn today in critical health conditions, as they suffered from skin diseases, severe torture and harsh treatment in Israeli prisons. pic.twitter.com/y8TJ1wOWFr
— Quds News Network (@QudsNen) February 27, 2025
“This policy is a part of Israel’s crime of genocide, which aims to destroy the Palestinian people in the Strip, either entirely or partially, by weakening the foundations of their survival and leading them to submission or extinction,” Euro-Med Monitor stated.
The group’s field team also documented Israel’s “ongoing use of psychological torture and humiliation against recently released prisoners through the enforcement of laws that directly incite violence and genocide.”
Clothes of Humiliation
One example of these measures was the prison authorities’ requirement that newly released detainees “wear vests with official Israeli Prison Service slogans and threatening phrases in Hebrew, including religious quotations that express the principle of revenge and pursuit until liquidation.”
Additionally, they were “forced to wear plastic wristbands with derogatory words printed on them to psychologically degrade them and highlight the fact that they are still being singled out despite being ‘free.’”
Palestinians released today as part of the exchange deal, along with their families, burn the uniforms that israeli prison guards forced them to wear pic.twitter.com/0gWUUHqVTI
— Sarah Wilkinson (@swilkinsonbc) February 15, 2025
The group said the phrase “I will pursue my enemies and overtake them; I will not return until I have destroyed them” is printed on the vests of released detainees.
The phrase “is taken from a biblical passage (Psalm 18:37) that expressly calls for killing and genocide.”
“This is a form of direct and public incitement to genocide, which is forbidden by Article 3 of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide,” said Euro-Med Monitor.
‘Beyond Psychological Warfare’
It said that by depriving the Palestinians of their humanity and treating them as a legitimate target for killing and targeting, “Israel’s actions go beyond psychological warfare and constitute a dangerous extension of institutional hate speech and a consolidation of the intention to commit genocide.”
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The rights group pointed out that the “violations which Palestinian prisoners and detainees are subjected to by Israel, whether while these individuals are being held or being released, gravely violate international law and represent a blatant disregard for its mandatory regulations that forbid torture and cruel or inhuman treatment without exception.”
The Third and Fourth Geneva Conventions provide complete protection for prisoners and detainees, and forbid torture, humiliation, or retaliation, making these crimes punishable by international law, it added.
Detainee’s Death Announced
The group pointed out that the death of detainee Raafat Adnan Abdul Aziz Abu Fanouneh (34), “who was tortured and abused following his arrest” in Gaza in October 2023, was announced on Wednesday by Israel.
Gaza’s Medical Workers ‘Unlawfully Detained, Tortured, Starved’ – Report
It said a “minimum of 60 prisoners and detainees—as these are the only victims whose identities are known—have perished in Israeli occupation prisons since the beginning of the genocide, including at least 39 individuals” from Gaza.
“This is the highest number ever,” the rights body stressed, adding that Israel’s “notorious arbitrary detention practices, such as administrative detention and detention under the ‘Unlawful Combatants Law’, must be stopped.”
“These practices are a blatant violation of international law and are employed as a systematic, repressive tool to weaken the Palestinian will, tear apart the social fabric that holds them together, and deny Palestinians their fundamental legal rights,” the organization stated.
Prosecution Urged
It called on the International Criminal Court to “investigate the crimes, submit specialised reports regarding the crimes committed against Palestinian prisoners and detainees in Israeli prisons and detention facilities, particularly after 7 October 2023, and issue arrest warrants for all perpetrators.”
“All concerned nations must make sure the perpetrators of these crimes are prosecuted and brought before the Court to stand trial,” Euro-Med Monitor added.
The rights body also demanded that Israel “immediately cease its crime of enforced disappearance against Palestinian prisoners and detainees from the Gaza Strip; reveal all secret detention camps; reveal the names, whereabouts, and fates of all Palestinians it is holding from the Strip; and take full responsibility for the safety and well-being of these individuals.”
These demands must come from the international community, the group stressed.
(The Palestine Chronicle)
