“Living Death”: Gazan Detainees Share Harrowing Testimonies from Israel’s Naqab Prison

Occupied Palestine (Quds News Network)- Several Palestinian detainees have shared harrowing testimonies about the brutal, systematic torture they were subjected to while held in Israel’s Naqab prison.

Following a visit to the prison, the Palestinian Prisoner’s Society (PPS) and the Palestinian Authority’s Commission of Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs have shared the new accounts, which all confirm the extreme violence and dehumanization faced by Gazan detainees in the Naqab prison.

One of the detainees, known only by his initials MR, recalled his horrific experience of being subjected to relentless torture since his detention in Sheikh Zayed city in March 2024.

He said he was shackled, blindfolded, and banned from movement for days. He recounted being subjected to physical abuse and forced into signing a made-up confession.

Like many others, MR was unable to sleep due to the intense itching and rashes resulting from his infection with scabies, which continues to torment the prisoners in Israeli cells.

A similar testimony was shared by MH, another detainee, who was detained at the Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza. He said he was subjected to humiliating treatment, which included being drenched in sewage and urine.

He was kept shackled, blindfolded, and kneeling, describing being detained in Naqab prison as “living death”.

Hot water torture was also mentioned by detainee HR, who was later transferred to the Naqab prison.

All detainees, who shared their accounts, had their bodies covered in sores and boils due to their infection with scabies.

In another testimony from the detainee AN, he said: “Death is more merciful than what we are living in prison. Even today, despite the arrival of winter, the prisoners are still wearing their summer clothes.”

He added: “We suffer from extreme cold, hunger, and diseases without exception, particularly due to the spread of scabies. I have also contracted other diseases due to the harsh prison conditions.”

Meanwhile, the detainee JS mentioned: “I have been suffering from scabies for several months, and boils cover my body. Today, I can hardly stand or walk easily. I also suffer from other health problems, and my condition has worsened due to the torture and brutal beatings. I now bleed because of what I have been subjected to.”

Detainee JS pointed out that Ashraf Abu Warda, who died on December 29, 2024, was in the same cell with him. He confirmed that Abu Warda’s condition was very dire and that he had lost the ability to speak, remember, and even stand on his feet.

This visit took place two days before detainee Ashraf Abu Warda’s death, the two groups said.

In the same context, detainee SA reported: “The Iseaeli prison administration deliberately removes the mattresses every morning and returns them in the evening, despite the harsh cold. Sometimes, they intentionally punish us by delaying the return of the mattresses until midnight.” Other detainees who were visited also mentioned this.

The PPS and the Commission of Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs confirmed that these testimonies are merely one part of a larger set of accounts from other detainees, which reflect the pattern of violent abuse faced by them whilst in the hands of Israeli prison guards.

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

Torture was recorded in civilian and military detention facilities across Israel, resulting in the deaths of at least 54 Palestinians in Israeli custody since the start of the Israeli genocide in Gaza in October 2023.

The systematic nature of the abuse across all facilities left “no room to doubt an organized, declared policy of the Israeli prison authorities”.

The PPS reported that about 14,,300 arrests have been made since the start of the war, excluding those detained in Gaza, where the numbers are estimated to be in the thousands.

More than 10,000 administrative detention orders have been issued during this period, ranging from new orders to renewals, including those targeting children and women.