Israeli court considers extending detention of 9 soldiers accused of assaulting Palestinian detainee from Gaza

By Abdelraouf Arnaout

JERUSALEM (AA) - The Israeli military court in Beit Lid will consider extending the detention of nine soldiers on Tuesday, accused of assaulting a Palestinian detainee from Gaza at the Sde Teiman Prison.

The Israeli military is preparing to prevent a right-wing incursion into the Beit Lid base, after they stormed it on Monday and clashed with the police, according to the Israeli public broadcaster KAN.

“This afternoon, all nine soldiers detained yesterday at the Sde Teiman base will be brought to a session at the Beit Lid court to extend their detention,” the state-run authority said.

"The Israeli military is preparing with reinforced forces to secure the military base, which was stormed by hundreds of civilians yesterday, in an unprecedented drama,” it continued.

The authority indicated that the session is expected to be held at 2 p.m. (1100GMT).

“The suspects denied the charges leveled against them by military prosecution investigators, despite the investigators having medical reports showing that the Gaza detainee was subjected to severe violence, including sexual assault, which led to his hospitalization,” the broadcaster noted.

It also mentioned that the Palestinian detainee is from the city of Jabalia, northern Gaza City.

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

Over 39,300 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 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 it 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 Rania Abu Shamala in Istanbul