Gazan detainee sexually abused by Israeli soldiers in ‘critical condition’: Media

By Anadolu staff

JERUSALEM (AA) – A Palestinian detainee sexually abused by Israeli soldiers at the Sde Teiman Prison in the Negev desert was transferred to an Israeli hospital in critical condition, the Israeli public broadcaster KAN said on Tuesday.

The state-run broadcaster did not reveal the name of the detainee, claiming only that he was a commander of a Hamas unit.

The broadcaster said that the detainee was transferred to Sde Teiman from Ofer military prison near Ramallah in the occupied West Bank.

“The detainee’s transfer was considered exceptional in light of an order by the Supreme Court to reduce the number of detainees at Sde Teiman,” KAN said.

Ten Israeli soldiers are accused of gang molestation of the detainee at the notorious detention facility. Nine soldiers were detained on Monday for questioning as part of an investigation into the abuse.

Following the arrest, right-wing protesters, including politicians, broke into two military bases in southern and central Israel to protest the detention of the soldiers.

Several reports emerged of severe abuses of Palestinian detainees at Sde Teiman Prison since the start of Israel’s ongoing offensive on the Gaza Strip.

The Israeli army is believed to have detained thousands of Palestinians, including women, children, and medics since Oct. 7, 2023.

In recent months, the army has released dozens of Palestinian detainees from Gaza in deteriorating health conditions, with their bodies bearing torture scars.

Flouting a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire, Israel has faced international condemnation amid its continued brutal offensive on Gaza since an Oct. 7, 2023 attack by Palestinian group Hamas.

At least 39,400 Palestinians have since been killed, mostly women and children, and nearly 91,000 injured, according to local health authorities.

Over nine months into the Israeli war, vast tracts of Gaza lie in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water, and medicine.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, whose latest ruling ordered Tel Aviv to immediately halt its military operation in the southern city of Rafah, where over a million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war before it was invaded on May 6.

*Writing by Rania Abu Shamala in Istanbul