Freed Palestinian Detainee Recounts Abduction and Torture by Israeli Soldiers, Including Acid Being Poured on His Body

Gaza (Quds News Network)- A freed Palestinian detainee from Gaza has shared his account of being tortured by Israeli soldiers during his detention, including pouring acid and other chemicals on his body.

Mohammed Abu Tawila was abducted from Gaza during the Israeli assault and was subjected to severe beatings, which included targeting his eye.

In an interview with local media, he said soldiers abducted him from an area near the Civil Affairs office in Gaza City to a home belonging to the al-Yazji family. There he was tortured with chemical substances, including acid, chlorine, dishwashing liquid, laundry detergent, soap, and air fresheners.

“They were ignited on my body for three days,” he said.

Once the soldiers saw how his body had reacted to the acid attack and other chemicals, they transferred him to the occupied West Bank.

Marks of the torture he describes can be seen on his back, arms, and face.

“My eye was included [in the torture]. One of them would keep punching me in the eye while wearing gloves with something tough, that resembled bone,” he said, adding that he later collapsed on the rubble from the beating.

He explained that the acid and other chemicals reacted with his injured eye. One soldier then blindfolded him, tying the cloth tightly, which caused the chemicals to continue reacting around the affected area.

“Of course, there was also torture in the occupied territories, from beatings to insults and humiliation, not to mention hunger and sitting in the cold.”

He added that he was not provided with clothes or blankets during this detention by the Israeli military, which lasted around a month and a half before he was transferred to the Ramla hospital.

He remained in the hospital for around two to three weeks before his transfer to the notorious Ofer military prison.

“They [Israeli prison guards] would release dogs on us, storm in and beat us inside, tie our hands, and take us outside to the prison yards. They would also kick us, causing our faces to swell and bleed,” he recounted.

“And they wouldn’t treat those injured. Instead, they would just tell us things like, ‘It will heal on its own.'”

The freed detainee noted other forms of humiliation, including prison guards spoiling their food by pouring shampoo on it or throwing it in the trash.

Israel’s Torture of Palestinians

Israeli authorities have been accused of torturing Palestinian detainees. This includes being handcuffed and shackled 24 hours a day, seven days a week – even while sleeping, eating, and using the restroom.

Testimonies also describe regular beatings by guards, extreme overcrowding, humiliation, and inadequate hygiene.

In August 2024, the Israeli rights group B’Tselem accused Israeli occupation authorities of systematically abusing Palestinians in “torture camps”, subjecting them to severe violence and sexual assault.

Its report, titled “Welcome to Hell”, is based on 55 testimonies from former detainees from the Gaza Strip, the occupied West Bank, East Jerusalem, and citizens of Israel. The overwhelming majority of these detainees were held without trial.

Torture was recorded in Israeli detention facilities, resulting in the deaths of at least 60 known detainees since 7 October 2023.

Among them are at least 39 detainees from Gaza, the highest number in history, making this the “bloodiest stage in the history of the prisoner movement,” according to the Palestinian Detainees’ Affairs Commission and the Palestinian Prisoner’s Society.

This week, two Palestinian detainees from Gaza have died in Israeli detention, according to the groups. The two did not suffer from any health problems before their arrest.