After the Hamas attacks on October 7, the Israeli army opened a detention center for Palestinians captured in the Gaza Strip or in Israel. While Israeli NGOs denounce the conditions of detention, an Israeli doctor testifies.
In the Sdé Teiman military base, about ten kilometers from the Gaza Strip in southern Israel, several hundred Hamas militiamen are reportedly detained and subjected to ill-treatment, even torture. Four whistleblowers testified to human rights organizations, including the doctor.
They were undressed. They couldn’t see anything and they couldn’t move
“The men were handcuffed at the hands and feet,” describes the caregiver, on condition of anonymity, in the RTS 7:30 p.m. “They were undressed. They couldn’t see anything and they couldn’t move. At best, it’s psychological torture but, for me, it’s also a form of physical torture. Can you imagine that They stay like that for days, without seeing anything,” he says indignantly.
The doctor also claims that the injured are not receiving the necessary care. “There are hospitals which are proud to say that they do not receive Gazans. What happens is that we receive very seriously injured people in Sdé Teiman. And from the moment the injured person arrives at Sdé Teiman, it is very difficult, if not impossible, to send him back to the hospital for treatment,” he explains.
Israel refutes
The Israeli army denies these accusations. In a press release, she said that “each detainee benefits from individual medical monitoring and medical procedures take place according to the rules”.
Nitsana Darshan-Leitner, lawyer for victims of Palestinian terrorism, denounces a media campaign aimed at smearing the Israeli army.
“The State of Israel behaves towards these prisoners in accordance with international law,” she believes. “These prisoners are being held as unconventional fighters. As such, they are entitled only to the minimum conditions provided for by international law. And this is much more than what our hostages who are in the hands of Hamas benefit from.”
Israeli NGOs have filed an appeal before the Supreme Court to obtain the closure of the Sdé Teiman detention center. The judges will make their decision on Monday. In the meantime, the Israeli army announced the evacuation of most prisoners to a conventional detention center.
