A Palestinian doctor says Israeli forces in Gaza detained him when they overran a hospital and subjected him to abuse during 45 days of captivity.
Dr. Said Abdulrahman Maarouf was working at al-Ahli al-Arab Hospital in Gaza City when it was surrounded by Israeli forces in December.
He described the torture and insults he endured during his 45-day captivity, including sleep deprivation, constant shackling, and blindfolding.
The doctor recounted having his hands cuffed, his legs shackled and his eyes masked for the nearly seven-week duration of his imprisonment.
He said he was told to sleep in places that were covered with pebbles without a mattress, pillow, or cover and with loud music blaring.
“The torture was very severe in Israeli prisons. I am a doctor. My weight was 87kg. I lost, in 45 days, more than 25kg. I lost my balance. I lost focus. I lost all feeling,” Maarouf was quoted as saying.
“However you describe the suffering and the insults in prison, you can never know the reality unless you lived through it,” he added.
Maarouf said he has no idea where he was detained as he was blindfolded throughout his detention, and he was not sure if he was held inside or outside Gaza. He was dropped at the Kerem Shalom crossing and was picked up by the Red Cross.
Rights groups have time and again highlighted Israel’s mistreatment of Palestinian prisoners, saying the Tel Aviv regime enjoys a culture of impunity in the absence of international accountability.
Harrowing testimonies by the released Palestinians as well as human rights lawyers, and several pieces of video footage illustrate some of the worst forms of torture and ill-treatment by the Israeli forces since October 7.
Similar accounts of torture have already been documented from decades of Israeli hostility across the occupied West Bank.
The United Nations human rights representative, Ajith Sunghay, in the Palestinian territories recently told reporters last month of the “horrific” conditions the Palestinians kept by the regime face.
Inmates have reported several cases of harsh violence and abuse carried out by prison wardens, including guards kicking, punching and humiliating prisoners.
Palestinian officials have already said testimonies from released Palestinian abductees from the besieged Gaza Strip revealed they had been subjected to torture by Israeli forces.
The testimonies came from abductees who said they were held in a makeshift detention camp in Beersheba, also known as Bir as-Sab.
A Geneva-based rights group earlier called for an urgent international investigation into the torture and murder of Palestinian abductees held in Israel’s “Guantanamo-like” jails.
The Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor said it had gathered testimonies confirming recent reports in Israeli media about the regime’s field execution of the Gaza abductees.
Israeli attacks in Gaza have so far claimed the lives of over 27,300 people since October 7 while nearly 67,000 have been injured.
