DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — Ten Palestinians detained from Gaza by Israeli troops were freed and returned to the territory on Thursday, saying they suffered constant abuse while imprisoned.
Israel has detained thousands of Palestinians since it launched its military campaign in Gaza in retaliation for Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel. It has done periodic releases of detainees throughout the war, though this was the first since it restarted the war in mid-March, breaking a ceasefire with the militant Hamas group.
The 10 men, all dressed in grey sweatpants and shirts, were brought by bus to a hospital in the central Gaza town of Deir al-Balah, where they were welcomed by family members.
They were all detained from the northern Gaza Strip during Israel’s last offensive there before the January ceasefire. They said they were held at least part of the time in Sde Teiman, a military prison camp that has become notorious for abuses of Gaza detainees.
One of the freed men, Fayez Ayoub, looked gaunt and walked with difficulty, supported by another man.
“I swear, Dad, every moment we waited for you to be released,” his daughter Marah Ayoub told him, crying. “Every time a prisoner was released, we went to him” to ask about her father.
“Torment, torment,” he told her.
Detained by Israeli troops on Nov. 6, he said “156 days have passed with us in agony. We are tortured and in pain.” He said detainees were abused every day and had little sleep. His daughter said he was seized by Israeli troops just after being released from Kamal Adwan hospital in northern Gaza after suffering fractures in his pelvis and spine from an airstrike.
Another man, Hani Abu Sharif, said they were frequently beaten, stripped to their underwear, and forced to stand barefoot on stones, causing their feet to bleed. They were only allowed to shower every month or two, he said.
There was no immediate comment by the military.
There have been widespread reports of abuse of Palestinian detainees in military prison camps and civilian prisons, including frequent beatings and lack of medical care and food. Five soldiers have been indicted after accusations that they raped a detainee with a knife at Sde Teiman.
Also Thursday, Israel released a Palestinian who took part in an attack when he was 13 and reportedly developed schizophrenia in prison.
Israel says Ahmad Manasra is a terrorist who tried to kill Jews his own age. Palestinians accuse Israel of subjecting a child to harsh incarceration that led to serious and potentially permanent mental illness. His lawyer, Khaled Zabarqa, said he was released after completing his 9½-year sentence.
In 2015, Manasra, then 13, and his 15-year-old cousin rampaged through a Jewish settlement in east Jerusalem with knives. His cousin, Hassan, critically wounded a 13-year-old Israeli boy who was leaving a candy store and stabbed an Israeli man before being shot dead by police.
Ahmad was run over by a car and beaten by passersby. A graphic video of Ahmad lying in the street, bleeding from the head while Israelis taunted him, garnered millions of views. He was later convicted of attempted murder.
Zarbarqa said he did not have immediate information about Manasra’s condition after his release, but said he was with his parents.
“We know in jail he’s been very ill. We’re waiting to know his health situation now,” Zabarqa said.
Information for this article was contributed by Mahmoud Illean and Melanie Lidman of The Associate Press.
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