Gaza, 26 June 2025 – Today marks the International Day in Support of Victims of Torture, a day to reaffirm the absolute prohibition of torture and to support the rights of victims to justice, accountability and rehabilitation. As the world observes this designated day, Israeli forces continue to escalate their use of brutal torture against Palestinian detainees in Israeli prisons. This practice is carried out with the backing of an increasingly complicit judicial system that consistently fails to uphold international legal obligations that prohibit torture under any circumstances.

Despite binding international treaties that define torture as a crime with no statute of limitations and call for the protection of human dignity, Israeli authorities persist in committing acts of torture against Palestinian detainees with unprecedented severity – particularly since October 2023. This reflects a clear flouting of the international legal framework, which absolutely prohibits torture, considers it a crime under international law and obliges states to prevent it. Yet far from acting to curb torture, the Israeli system for treatment of Palestinian detainees has deliberately and systematically intensified the use of extreme methods that cross beyond all bounds of cruelty and inhumanity.

On this day, Al Mezan presents newly documented testimonies obtained by its lawyer during recent visits to Palestinian detainees in Israeli prisons.

On 21 May 2025, Al Mezan's lawyer visited detainee R.N. (30 years old) at Ashkelon Prison, who stated:

“I was arrested on 23 March 2025 in the Tal Al-Sultan area west of Rafah. Israeli forces blindfolded me, handcuffed my wrists, and struck me on the face and head with their fists. A field interrogation followed, after which I was transferred to an unknown location and placed in a room where I was exposed to extremely loud music for a week. During that time, the interrogators slapped me in the face, punched me and kicked me in the abdomen.”

Detainee R.R. (32 years old) told Al Mezan’s lawyer during a visit to Sde Teiman military camp on 25 May 2025:

“I was arrested on 29 February 2024 from Kamal Adwan Hospital in North Gaza and taken to Al-Fakhoura School in Jabaliya, where I was punched and kicked. Israeli forces then blindfolded me and transferred me to an unknown location. There, the interrogator punched me several times in the face and repeatedly slapped me to extract a confession. I was brought before a court under the Unlawful Combatant Law, which extended my detention for six months without informing me of the charges against me or allowing me to consult with a lawyer at the time. I am currently held in an isolation cell, where my wrists remain cuffed all day. We are not allowed any outdoor time, and the food is of very poor quality.”

Detainee G.S. (47 years old) told Al Mezan’s lawyer during a visit to Sde Teiman military camp on 26 May 2025:

“I was arrested on 27 December 2024 near Kamal Adwan Hospital. Israeli forces forced me to strip down to my underwear, blindfolded me, and beat and kicked various parts of my body to extract confessions. I was later brought before a court under the Unlawful Combatants Law, but no charges were presented against me, and I was not allowed to consult with a lawyer. The court extended my detention for six months. Since my arrest, I have developed a hernia and lost weight – dropping from 96 kilograms to 70. I am given a mattress only at night, which is taken away each morning. The food is of poor quality and insufficient.”

As a result of follow-up by lawyers and direct interviews with Palestinian detainees, Al Mezan’s legal team established that Israeli forces are using a systematic pattern of torture, carried out in several phases. The first begins at the moment of arrest, when detainees are often forced to undress and are subjected to beatings.  Their wrists are bound, their eyes blindfolded, and they are subject to field interrogations (interrogations carried out other than at formal places of detention), during which they are forced to sit under the scorching sun or on jagged stones. In some cases, detainees are used as human shields, taken to active combat zones and positioned at the front of Israeli military units, directly endangering their lives.

The second phase – interrogation – involves deadly forms of physical and psychological torture. Detainees report being beaten with hammers, subjected to prolonged stress positions (shabeh), sleep deprivation, fingernail removal, attacks by dogs, and confinement in rooms with deafening music. In some cases, detainees have been subjected to sexual assault, as documented in the Sde Teiman military camp.

The third phase concerns detention conditions. Israeli forces deprive detainees of sleep, adequate bedding and blankets, and access to washing and toilet facilities. They are denied adequate and nutritious food and clean drinking water and are held in overcrowded conditions. Detainees are also denied family or legal visits, all of which amounts to ill-treatment and degrading conditions of confinement.

As a direct result of this deliberate and systematic policy, Israeli forces have killed dozens of Palestinian detainees during interrogations in Israeli prisons. Available evidence indicates that many of these deaths were the result of torture. Al Mezan has documented four such cases involving detainees whom the organization was legally representing at the time of their deaths.

Since October 2023, Israeli forces have arrested thousands of Palestinians from Gaza. Detainees have been taken from their homes, displacement shelters, hospitals, and at checkpoints across northern, central, and southern Gaza. Israeli authorities refuse to disclose the actual number of detainees in their custody. Meanwhile, families in Gaza continue to report missing relatives to Al Mezan, raising serious concerns about the growing number of missing people – many of whom may fall under the category of enforced disappearance, which refers to the deprivation of liberty by state authorities or their agents, followed by a refusal to acknowledge the detention or disclose the person’s fate or whereabouts – placing them outside the protection of the law.

Al Mezan unequivocally condemns Israel’s continued use of torture against Palestinian detainees, emphasizing that such practices amount to grave breaches of Article 147 of the Fourth Geneva Convention. Torture also constitutes a war crime under Article 8 of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, requiring the ICC Prosecutor to immediately launch an investigation into these egregious violations. These acts are in direct violation of binding international instruments, most notably the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. Torture is among the most heinous abuses that can be inflicted on a human being and can never be justified under any circumstances, as it gravely endangers the fundamental right to life.

On the occasion of the International Day in Support of Victims of Torture, Al Mezan reaffirms that torture must never go unpunished and holds Israel fully accountable under international law for the lives of Palestinian detainees in its custody, based on the three fundamental elements of legal responsibility: the act, the consequence, and the causal link.

Al Mezan calls on the international community to uphold its legal and moral obligations by moving beyond mere condemnation and taking concrete, effective action to end these grave violations, including the ongoing genocide perpetrated by Israeli forces in Gaza.

Al Mezan further calls on the international community to increase pressure on Israel to respect international law and to comply with the rulings and appeals issued by relevant international bodies responsible for upholding legal standards. These include the orders of the International Court of Justice to end the genocide, as well as the urgent calls by UN Special Rapporteurs, the UN Secretary-General, the Human Rights Council, various UN agencies, and international human rights organizations.