Torture of Gazans in Israeli prisons 'worse than Guantanamo Bay': human rights monitor

Israeli detention centres have become worse than Guantanamo Bay prison as Palestinian detainees from Gaza are subject to brutal murders and torture, the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor said in a report on Saturday.

Palestinians in these prisons are suffering from "shameful forms" of torture, degrading treatment, and the deprivation of their most basic human rights, Euro-Med says.

Thousands of Palestinians have been rounded up from Gaza since the start of the war on 7 October, with hundreds kept in unknown locations. Several who were locked up and later released have made horrifying testimonies.

An investigative report by Israeli newspaper Haaretz recently revealed that at least 27 Palestinian detainees from Gaza died during interrogation due to torture or the denial of medical treatment.

Israel’s refusal to disclose the names and locations of these prisoners deprives them of legal protection, Euro-Med says.

The observatory added that the Sde Teiman camp, where many prisoners were being held, had turned into a worse version of the infamous US Guantanamo Bay Detention Camp in Cuba.

Detainees at Sde Teiman are kept in extremely harsh conditions, such as confined places resembling chicken cages, without food or water for long periods of time and endure severe forms of torture and beatings to extract confessions.

Euro-Med urged swift action to be taken to help those still locked up and provide justice to their families.

The number of Palestinians detained indefinitely without charges by Israeli forces has seen a dramatic rise since October 7, reaching 3,484.

Mediated negotiations between Israel and Hamas which would see a temporary ceasefire in Gaza and the release of Palestinian prisoners for Israeli hostages have failed to make a breakthrough.