Horrific conditions for Palestinian prisoners from Gaza exposed in new report

“I was arrested in December 2023 and was immediately transferred to interrogation, which lasted for six days. These were some of the most intense and difficult days. I was subjected to what is called the ‘disco’ and ‘diaper’ interrogation methods. Throughout the six days, I was exposed to nothing but extremely loud music. I was forced to use diapers to relieve myself, and they were only changed twice. I was deprived of food and provided with very little water—half a glass a day. I was handcuffed and blindfolded during the entire interrogation.” – One Palestinian detainee from Gaza held in the Rakefet prison

A new report, “Israel’s Underground Prison for Palestinian Political Detainees Abducted from Gaza,” issued by the Commission of Prisoners’ Affairs and the Palestinian Prisoners’ Society exposes the horrifying reality for Palestinians from Gaza abducted by the occupation’s genocidal invading forces.

In particular, the report exposes the “Rakefet section,” an underground wing of the Nitsan-Ramle prison set aside for Palestinian political prisoners from Gaza. As the authors of the report state:

The visit began with the legal teams being led to the entrance of a building resembling an old warehouse. A door was opened, revealing a staircase descending underground, as described by the lawyers. The area was full of cockroaches with holes in the floors and walls. The visits were conducted under strict guard and heavy surveillance. Lawyers were instructed not to inform the detainees of anything related to their families or events happening outside.

The lawyers documenting the visits noted that “This section, which the occupation has designated for prisoners who it calls ‘elite’ prisoners, is part of those who were visited and is classified by the occupation as ‘illegal combatants.'” The occupation claims that it may indefinitely detain Palestinians from Gaza by labeling them ‘illegal combatants,’ the same term used by the United States to hold prisoners indefinitely at Guantanamo Bay naval base. It uses this term against a broad array of Palestinians from Gaza, including Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya, the heroic pediatrician and director of Kamal ‘Udwan hospital, abducted by the occupation for his heroic defense of Palestinian healthcare.

Many Palestinians from Gaza, seized en masse by the invading genocidal forces throughout the besieged Strip over the past 19 months, have been subjected to extreme forms of torture and abuse, including sexual and physical assault and rape, mass starvation, beating and torture to the point of severe injury or death, and various forms of abuse, combined with the almost complete denial of medical care. While many of these assaults have taken place in the military camps, like Sde Teiman and Anatot, the abuse continues inside the official Zionist prison system.

Of the at least 66 identified Palestinian prisoners who have been martyred in the occupation prisons since 7 October 2023, amid Al-Aqsa Flood and the ongoing genocide, at least 40 have been from Gaza. The locations and identities of abducted Palestinians have largely gone unreported, as the occupation refuses to turn over this information, leaving many Palestinians missing — with their families unable to learn whether they are being held in an occupation torture camp or martyred under the rubble.

As the report notes, “It is worth noting that the number of Gaza detainees acknowledged by the Israeli Prison Services as of early April 2025 stands at 1,747, classified as ‘unlawful combatants.’ This figure does not include all Gaza detainees held in camps run by the Israeli army—only those under the jurisdiction of the prison system.”

“Disco” interrogation, discussed in many testimonies, refers to being shackled while loud music is played continually for days at a time. (This technique was also notoriously used by U.S. interrogators at CIA black sites and at Guantanamo Bay.) “Diaper” interrogation refers to Palestinians being forced to wear diapers, shackled to chairs, and prohibited from accessing toilet facilities, also for days on end. One detainee who provides testimony in this report was subjected to these interrogation methods for six days straight without interruption.

The detained Palestinians note that:

• Finger-breaking is used as a method of torture, punishment and control by occupation guards;
• No sunlight enters their cells or even the yard;
• They have been beaten with objects on the genital areas;
• They are denied access to underwear;
• They are denied medical treatment;
• They are frequently forced to curse their mothers by the guards.

We are re-publishing the full text of this important report below and urge its broad distribution.

We urge supporters of Palestine around the world to act and organize to demand the liberation of all Palestinian prisoners as part and parcel of ending the genocide in Gaza — on the road to the liberation of Palestine from the river to the sea.

Download the report in PDF.

Issued by the Commission of Prisoners’ Affairs and the Palestinian Prisoners’ Club

“Underground Visit to Gaza Detainees”

The first visits to Gaza detainees in the section under Nitzan-Ramla Prison, or what is called the Rakefet Section.

6/5/2025

Note: This section, which the occupation has designated for prisoners who it calls “elite” prisoners, is part of those who were visited and is classified by the occupation as “illegal combatants.”

The Commission of Prisoners’ Affairs and the Palestinian Prisoners’ Club are reviewing new testimonies that will be added to the list of shocking and horrific testimonies about the details experienced by Gaza detainees during their arrest, interrogation, and transfer from one prison to another, and from one camp to another, over the course of several months of detention. They faced systematic crimes, which were, in their entirety, crimes of torture that they experienced moment by moment since their arrest. These testimonies were obtained through visits, the first of their kind that legal teams were able to conduct recently, during which a group of detainees were visited under strict conditions and under a high level of supervision in the (Rakefet) section located under the (Nitzan – Ramla) prison.

An underground visit to Gaza detainees in the Rakefet section

In the details of the visit that took place to a group of detainees, the visit began with the legal teams entering the entrance of an old warehouse-like building. A door was opened, which is the entrance to an underground staircase, according to what the lawyers described, full of cockroaches and holes in the ground and walls. The visits took place accompanied by the prison guards and under strict supervision, during which the lawyers were informed that it was forbidden to tell the detainees anything related to their families or anything that was happening outside. Signs of terror and fear were evident on the bodies of the detainees who were visited. At first, there were great difficulties in starting a conversation with any detainee, due to the level of supervision imposed on the visit. However, after attempts made by the lawyers, they were able to reassure the detainees and confirm to them that they were lawyers who had come to visit them.

Here, we review some of the detainees’ testimonies, including the shocking details they contain. These testimonies are an extension of dozens of testimonies and statements obtained from Gaza detainees since the beginning of the genocide.

The Rakefet section is the most difficult and harsh in terms of detention conditions compared to other prisons and camps.

Detainee (S.J.) testimonial: “I was arrested in December / December 2023, and I was immediately transferred to the investigation that lasted for 6 days, which was the most intense and difficult, during which I was subjected to the (disco) and (pampers) investigation, and throughout the 6 days I only listened to very loud music, and throughout these days I was forced to use (diapers) to relieve myself, they were changed only twice, and I was deprived of food, and the water was very little, half a cup a day, and throughout the investigation period I was handcuffed and blindfolded, and later I was transferred from (Sde Teiman) camp to (Ashkelon) prison, where I remained for (45) days, then I was transferred to the (Moscobiyya) detention center for (85) days, then to (Ofer) prison, and finally to the (Rakefet) section in (Nitzan) Ramle prison.

The detainee indicated that the detention conditions in the Ramleh Rakefet section are the most difficult compared to all the prisons he was transferred to during his detention. In each cell there are three prisoners, one of whom sleeps on the floor. The exit to the “furah” (prison yard) takes place day after day, during which we remain handcuffed, knowing that this area is not exposed to the sun. Throughout their time in the “furah” they are exposed to humiliation and degradation, and they are also forbidden from raising their heads throughout the “furah”.

We don’t know when the sun rises and when it sets.

Detainee (W.N.): “I was arrested in December / December 2024, I was interrogated by the occupation army before being transferred to a camp in the Gaza Strip. I was interrogated by the intelligence service, threatened and beaten, and later transferred to Ramla prison. Today, I suffer from health problems and severe pain in my body. What increases my suffering is that we are forced to sit on our knees for long periods. I was also sexually assaulted by being beaten with a scanner on sensitive parts of my body. Today, we are completely isolated from the outside world. We do not know when the sun rises or sets. We are provided with worn and damaged clothes, but we are forced to wear them. We are denied underwear. In addition to all of this, they force us to curse our mothers, and we are subjected to beatings and oppression. The beating during my transfer to the prison caused one of my fingers to be broken, knowing that the prison guards use the method of breaking fingers, and this has happened to more than one detainee.

Finger breaking is a method of torturing detainees.

In the same context, the detainee (Kh. D.) indicated that he was subjected to a “disco” investigation, and later to investigation by the occupation intelligence, and this was repeated 3-4 times. They deliberately hung him on a chair for long periods, and threw him on the floor while handcuffed. The investigation continued for 30 days in the cells of Ashkelon prison, and throughout this period he was subjected to severe beatings. Today he suffers from scabies, which he contracted during his detention in Ofer prison, and the disease continued with him after he was transferred to Ramla prison. Today, in addition to scabies, he suffers from severe chest pains that increase in severity as a result of the handcuffing operations that are carried out from behind. The detainee indicated that the prison administration punishes prisoners by breaking their thumbs.

Cameras inside the cells document the detainees’ movements around the clock.

“As for the detainee (A.G.), he said: “I was detained for (35) days in the (Sde Timan) camp. I was subjected to a (disco) investigation for five days. When I was arrested, I was suffering from an injury and did not receive any treatment. I had a high fever at the beginning of the detention, and I was screaming all the time from the severity of the pain in my body. In addition, I suffer from heart problems and I lost consciousness several times. They were satisfied with just confirming that I was alive. In the first stage of detention, I did not have clothes or a blanket. I felt very cold because I was detained in a (barrack) open from several sides, which exacerbated my suffering. For 15 days, my hands were tied and my eyes were blindfolded all the time. Then I was later transferred to the (Rakefet) section in the (Ramla) prison. In all the rooms here, there were cameras that documented our movements constantly. We were forbidden to pray, and they threatened us with death all the time. The process of taking us out for a break was an opportunity for the prison guards to assault us with severe beatings and insult us while our hands were tied. We never see the sun, we are forced to curse our mothers, the jailer decides when and for how long we can shower, every three days each cell is given a roll of toilet paper, and the amount of food is very small. We know it’s dawn because the jailers pull out the mattresses and blankets.

Rakefet Prison – Ramle is one of the prisons and camps that the occupation has established since the genocide or that have been reopened again to detain detainees from Gaza. The most prominent of them are: (Sde Teiman), (Anatot), (Ofer) camp, (Rakefet) and another camp that was opened for detainees from the West Bank, which is (Manashe) camp. These camps were the most prominent headlines for torture crimes, as the occupation turned them into spaces for torturing detainees physically and psychologically on the spot.

It is noteworthy that the number of Gaza detainees recognized by the Israeli prison administration until the beginning of April / As of April 2025, 1,747 people were classified as “illegal combatants.” This figure does not include all Gaza detainees held in Israeli military camps, but only those under Israeli prison administration.