Around 50 men detained from Gaza released by Israel with visible signs of torture

Around 50 detained Palestinian men from Gaza were released by Israel on Tuesday, the Turkish Anadolu news agency has reported. The released men showed visible signs of torture, as seen in videos and photos.

Several men appeared exhausted, gaunt and thinner than usual in photographs.

Palestinian sources said some 33 of the freed men were taken to Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza for medical attention "due to poor health conditions".

A video shared on social media from the hospital showed a young girl reunited with her previously-detained father. The young girl could be seen crying as she hugged her father, who was visibly exhausted as he laid in the hospital bed.

The man was reportedly detained for eight months by Israeli forces, and was tortured while in captivity.

الجيش الإسرائيلي يفرج عن 35 أسير ممن اعتقلهم خلال العملية العسكرية في قطاع غزة من بوابة زكيم شمال القطاع وتعمل الطواقم الطبية الفحوصات اللازمة لهم في مستشفى كمال عدوان pic.twitter.com/QbqTiNrUCA

— Dr. Zaid Alsalman (@ZaidAlsalman6) June 12, 2024

There are no official figures of how many Palestinians men have been detained throughout Israel’s war in Gaza, but rights groups estimate that the number is in the thousands.

NGOs and victims have confirmed that scores of Palestinian men have been systematically abducted, detained, tortured, sexually abused and even executed.

The detention and abuse of detainees may amount to war crimes, several rights groups have noted.

In April this year, at least 1,506 Palestinian detainees were released through the Karam Abu Salem (Kerem Shalom) crossing, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA said.

In December, Israeli forces forcibly detained The New Arab reporter Diaa al-Kahlout from his home in Beit Lahia in northern Gaza. Kahlout, the Gaza bureau chief of TNA's Arabic language service Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, was abused and tortured in Israel’s Beer’sheba prison.

Palestinian men in the West Bank, where Israel has intensified its raids, are also subject to arrests and violence, with over 3,000 being detained since Israel's war on Gaza began.