Palestinians detained by Israel subjected to ‘torture’: UN report

GENEVA: Palestinians detained by Israel during the Gaza war have largely been held in secret and in some cases subjected to treatment that may amount to torture, the United Nations said on Wednesday. Since the October 7 Hamas attacks, thousands of Palestinians -- including medics, patients, residents and captured fighters -- have been taken from Gaza to Israel, “usually shackled and blindfolded”, the OHCHR UN human rights office said in a reportThousands more have been detained in the West Bank and Israel, it added.”

They have generally been held in secret, without being given a reason for their detention, access to a lawyer or effective judicial review,” OHCHR said.Israel did not immediately comment but has rejected previous critical reports saying its prisons are run according to international law. The report was released the day after Israel´s military police questioned soldiers arrested on suspicion of sexually abusing a Palestinian detaineeAt least 53 detainees from Gaza and the West Bank have died in Israeli detention since the Gaza war began on October 7, the report found.

Testimonies for the report suggested that Israel had subjected prisoners to “a range of appalling acts, such as waterboarding and the release of dogs on detainees”, UN rights chief Volker Turk said.The report covers October 7 to June 30. It relies primarily on information gathered through interviews with released Palestinian detainees and other victims and witnesses of violations, OHCHR said. The report said there were “reasonable grounds to believe” that since October 7, Israel and Palestinian armed groups had “committed gross violations and abuses... of the rights to life, liberty and freedom from torture and other ill-treatment.”