‘Sexual assault, dog attacks…’: UN report reveals abuse faced by Palestinians in Israeli detention centres

Israel and Hamas war has entered its fifth month. Skirmishes that inflated into a genocidal war Israel unleashed upon Gaza in retaliation has now killed over 30,000 Palestinians. A recent report by the United Nations (UN) has revealed that almost 4,000 Palestinians, who have been detained by Israel, were subjected to abuse including beatings, dog attacks, the prolonged use of stress positions and sexual assault.

The report was compiled by the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine (UNRWA) and is largely based on interviews of Palestinian detainees released at the Kerem Shalom crossing point since December, when UNRWA staff were present to provide humanitarian support.

According to reports, Israel has taken over 4,00 detainees from Gaza since October 2023. Only over 1,000 detainees have been released since December by Benjamin Netanyahu's government.

The inflation of war between Israel and Hamas was triggered by Hamas' multi-pronged raids into southern Israel on 7 October which killed about 1,200 Israelis.

Palestinians abused by Israel

“(Palestinian) Detainees reported being taken on trucks to large makeshift ‘military barracks’ housing 100-120 people each, where they were held, often for weeks at a time, in between periods of interrogation at a nearby location,” the UNRWA document said, in allegations first reported by the New York Times.

The UN report claims the worst abuse occurs in these detention and interrogation centres before the detainees are transferred to the Israeli prison system.

The UNRWA report says: “Methods of ill-treatment reported included physical beatings, forced stress positions for extended periods of time, threats of harm to detainees and their families, attacks by dogs, insults to personal dignity and humiliation such as being made to act like animals or getting urinated on, use of loud music and noises, deprivation of water, food, sleep and toilets, denial of the right to practice their religion (to pray) and prolonged use of tightly locked handcuffs causing open wounds and friction injuries.

“The beatings included blunt force trauma to the head, shoulders, kidneys, neck, back and legs with metal bars and the butts of guns and boots, in some cases resulting in broken ribs, separated shoulders and lasting injuries,” the report alleges.

“While in an off-site location, several individuals reported being forced into cages and attacked by dogs, with some individuals including a child exhibiting dog bite wounds on release.”

The report included allegations of widespread sexual assault, although not rape. Women detainees reported being groped while blindfolded, and some male prisoners said they were beaten in the genitals.

“Another detainee reported being made to sit on an electrical probe, causing burns to his anus, the scars for which could still be seen weeks later,” the UNRWA report said. “He indicated that another detainee had also suffered the same treatment and died as a result of his infected wounds.”

Israel claims Hamas militants work for UN

Israel denies the abuse allegations, which it described as Hamas-inspired propaganda. It has named 12 UNRWA staff it claims took part in the 7 October attack, and claims that 450 of the agency’s 13,000 workers in Gaza are members of Hamas or other militant groups.

The allegations, which are being studied by two separate UN inquiries, have so far not been substantiated.

Their Israeli jailers, it alleges, “through beatings and other mistreatment and threats, sought to elicit operational information and forced confessions”.