Israeli torture: Urinating on Palestinian prisoners, burying them alive and beating the sick
Freed Palestinian detainees have shared horrific accounts of torture at the hands of Israeli authorities, revealing the brutal conditions they endured. Following the recent Hamas-Israel prisoner exchange, numerous detainees have been released, and their testimonies paint a disturbing picture of the violence and mistreatment they suffered.
One of the most chilling reports involves Palestinian prisoners being wrapped in shrouds and buried alive. According to accounts, the detainees were buried in pits, and just before suffocation set in, guards allowed a small amount of air to pass through, only to repeat the process again. This is one of the many forms of torture Palestinian prisoners have been subjected to.
Mahmoud Ismail Abukhater, 41, recalled his harrowing experience after being detained by Israeli forces in Gaza. On October 20, 2024, Abukhater was captured during an Israeli assault that involved aerial broadcasts and bombings. From the moment of his capture, he was subjected to physical and psychological abuse.
“They treated us like animals, not humans,” he said. Abukhater described how detainees were held in a place resembling a cattle farm, where they were made to endure freezing temperatures, shackled, and beaten with frozen water bottles. Israeli soldiers even urinated in containers and poured it over the prisoners’ bodies and faces.
Abukhater was then transferred to the notorious Sde Teiman military detention camp, where he faced further abuse. Prisoners were forced to remain seated for long hours, with limited access to toilets. The conditions were so extreme that detainees sometimes urinated on themselves due to being denied bathroom breaks.
One of the most terrifying forms of torture at Sde Teiman was the use of a shroud and a hose to simulate suffocation. Prisoners were placed in a shroud connected to a camera and buried alive in pits, with the guards monitoring their suffocation through the camera. Just as they neared death, a small amount of air would be allowed in, prolonging the agony before the process was repeated.
Perhaps the most tragic story was that of Musaab Haniyeh, the nephew of Ismail Haniyeh, the former political leader of Hamas. Haniyeh suffered from extreme torture and inadequate medical treatment in Ofer Prison, which ultimately led to his death. He lost significant weight, and his wounds became so severe that worms began emerging from his body. Despite the severity of his condition, the guards provided no medical assistance, and Haniyeh died in January 2025.
Abukhater witnessed the aftermath of his death, remembering that Haniyeh was wrapped in a shroud and carried away after being left to deteriorate in the prison.
