Hamas condemns torture of 6 Palestinians in Israeli prisons

By Mohammed Ragawi

GAZA CITY, Palestine (AA) - Hamas condemned the torture of six Palestinians, including two women, who were released from Israeli prisons on Thursday.

In a statement, Hamas cited statements from the released detainees given to Anadolu. The detainees reported experiencing “severe torture and brutal beatings throughout their detention.”

Hamas asserted that the “severe torture” inflicted on the released detainees “highlights the conditions faced by thousands of prisoners and detainees in Israeli occupation and Nazi-style detention centers.”

The group emphasized that such torture is carried out “by human beasts devoid of any human values, inflicting the most heinous forms of abuse on innocent and defenseless people.”

It said that the released detainees “showed signs of poor health due to torture, neglect, starvation, insults, and deprivation of sleep, underscoring the urgent need for serious action to expose what is happening in Israeli prisons and to rescue thousands of Palestinians detained in these so-called Nazi-style jails.”

Earlier in the day, the Israeli army released six Palestinian detainees from the Gaza Strip, according to witnesses.

Two women were among the detainees, who were set free at the Kissufim military checkpoint east of Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip, witnesses said.

“They were taken by the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital due to their bad health condition,” one of the witnesses told Anadolu.

“The released Gazans were barely able to walk due to extreme fatigue, exhaustion, and pain resulting from torture, malnutrition, and lack of sleep," he added.

Testimonies made by the released Gazans showed that they were subjected to “beating torture, humiliation, and constant interrogation during their detention.”

The Israeli army is believed to have detained thousands of Gazans during its ongoing offensive on the Palestinian enclave.

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 attack by Hamas.

Nearly 39,200 Palestinians have since been killed, mostly women and children, and over 90,400 injured, according to local health authorities.

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

Israel is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, which ordered Tel Aviv to immediately halt its military operation in the southern city of Rafah, where more than 1 million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war before it was invaded on May 6.

*Writing by Mohammad Sio