Gaza doctor recounts torture and trauma after 45 days in Israeli detention
Gaza (Quds News Network) – In a chilling account of the brutal treatment faced by Palestinians detained by Israeli occupation forces during the current onslaught on the Gaza Strip, Palestinian pediatrician Dr. Saeed Abdul Rahman Ma’ruf shared the harrowing details of his 45-day detainment by Israeli occupation forces from a hospital in Gaza.
Last December, as Dr. Ma’ruf was on duty at Al-Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza City, Israeli forces surrounded the medical facility and forcibly detained him. Throughout his captivity, he endured sleep deprivation, continuous restraint, and even eye nerve trauma before being released just last week.
Israeli forces bound Dr. Ma’ruf’s hands and legs and subjected him to continuous eye-folding for nearly seven weeks. He recounted the relentless torture and humiliation he and fellow detainees endured in the hands of their captors. “In Israeli prisons, the torture was extremely severe. I, a doctor, lost over 25 kilograms of weight in 45 days,” he revealed.
Describing the conditions of their confinement, he explained, “We were shackled for 45 days, our hands bound, our eyes blindfolded, forced to sleep on gravel without any mattress or pillow, amidst loud, blaring music, as if it were a party.”
With a tone of anguish, Dr. Ma’ruf stated, “I lost my balance, lost focus, lost all my senses. We were shackled for 45 days, blindfolded for 45 days,” attempting to convey the dire situation within the detention center.
Upon his release, the Red Cross transported him through the Karm Abu Salem crossing, where he was finally unshackled. However, due to his continuous blindfolding, he could not determine if he was detained within or outside Gaza during his captivity.
Since his arrest, Dr. Ma’ruf has had no information about his family, uncertain if they survived the intense Israeli incursions into Gaza. His last contact with them was a heartbreaking phone call with his daughter when Israeli soldiers, via loudspeakers, ordered all doctors and medical staff to evacuate the hospital.
As the soldiers announced the evacuation, his daughter informed him of the bombing in their vicinity. He recalled the painful conversation, “My daughter called me and said, ‘Father, the bombing has reached our location. What should we do?’ My daughter is not alone; there are five children with their mother, their aunt, and their aunt’s husband, meaning the house has at least 20 or 25 people.”
“I told her, ‘My daughter, if I tell you to leave, and God forbid something happens, I will suffer psychological torture. If I tell you to stay, and the worst happens, the result will be the same. Leave your fate to God. If you want to leave – my dear – then leave. If you want to stay, then stay. I am with you in the same trench. I will leave with the soldier now, and I do not know my fate,” he continued.
Since that moment, Dr. Ma’ruf has been in the dark about his family’s safety. Families in Gaza have been separated due to destruction and severed communication lines, making it challenging for individuals to reach many areas and leaving family members unable to connect.
Dr. Ma’ruf believes he was one of hundreds of prisoners in the same location, each praying for death as an escape from their torment. “In Israeli prisons, every one of us wished for death but it did not come. We wished for death due to the severe torture,” he expressed.
Returning to Gaza, Dr. Ma’ruf hung the stethoscope around his neck to resume his work in treating children. The sounds of children’s cries and the whispered concerns of worried parents echoed around him once again.
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