Guardian report shed light on Israeli abuses against Palestinian inmates in prison

CAIRO – 23 May 2024: The British Guardian newspaper published on Thursday a report shedding light on abuses at the Israeli Sde Teiman detention camp in the Negev desert against Palestinian inmates.

The report quoted sources describing Palestinian inmates being beaten, kept shackled to hospital beds or made to stand for hours.

The camp which holds up to 200 Palestinian detainees from Gaza was described to have ‘cages for Palestinians’ being confined under severe physical restrictions, with a field hospital where dozens of patients with war injuries are handcuffed to their beds and often deprived of pain relief.

“The prisoners are detained in a sort of cages, all blindfolded and handcuffed,” the source said. “If someone speaks or moves, they are immediately silenced or they are forced to stand with their hands raised above their head and handcuffed for up to one hour.

“If they are unable to keep their hands raised, the soldiers attach the handcuffs to the bars of the cage. Many of the detainees had infected wounds that were not being properly treated.”

He added: “The floor is very dirty, and it smells so bad that we were forced to wear face masks. You could hear sometimes the sound of beating and them screaming, and banging sound like against the metal wall.”

Medical sources said on Thursday that Israeli occupation forces committed nine massacres against families in the Gaza Strip over the last 24 hours, resulting in the documented killing of at least 91 Palestinians and the injury of 210 others.

Local health authorities confirmed that the Palestinian death toll from the Israeli onslaught since October 7 has risen to 35,800, with an additional 80,200 individuals sustaining injuries. The majority of the victims are women and children, Palestinian news agency (WAFA) said.

Ambulance and rescue teams are still unable to reach many casualties and dead bodies trapped under the rubble or scattered on roads across the war-torn enclave, as Israeli occupation forces continue to obstruct their movement.