GAZA, (PIC)
A woman from Gaza has revealed horrifying details of her experience during her detention by the Israeli occupation forces, when they raided shelters in December last year. Her testimony adds to the evidence of the crimes committed by the Israeli army and their brutality against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip ever since the aggression on the enclave started on October 7 last year.
The woman, who goes by the pseudonym Nabilah, stated in an interview with the Associated Press news agency that she was subjected to brutal torture and continuous interrogation throughout her 47-day detention, amidst freezing cold weather.
Nabilah, 39 years old, refused to obey the Israeli army’s orders to evacuate towards the south. She stated that she decided to stay in the city of Gaza, but the repeated Israeli bombardment forced her and her family to seek refuge in one of the UNRWA schools, hoping it would be safer.
However, in a repetition of their crimes in other locations, the occupation forces stormed the school where Nabila and her family sought refuge on December 24th. Nabilah was terrified and said, “I imagined that they wanted to execute us and bury us there.”
She added that the soldiers ordered the men to undress, while the women were taken to a nearby mosque for inspection. There, the beatings and repeated interrogations began, continuing throughout the six-week period of their detention.
Regarding the treatment of detainees by the occupation soldiers, she said it was extremely harsh, including beatings and shouting in their faces in Hebrew. Anyone who tried to raise their head or speak would be violently struck on the head.
The woman mentioned that the occupation soldiers transferred her between several locations, along with a number of other detainees, before finally arriving at Damon prison, estimating that there were about 100 women inside that prison.
She talked about the difficult conditions of her detention in the Israeli prisons, affirming that she was subjected to repeated searches and interrogations under the threat of weapons. She explained that the occupation soldiers questioned her about her relationship with Hamas and resistance factions, to which she denied any involvement, stating that she is a housewife with no connection to anyone.
She went into detail about the conditions of her detention, saying, “We were freezing from the cold and forced to stay on our knees on the ground. Our hands and feet were bound, our eyes blindfolded, amid loud music and continuous screaming (near them).” She emphasized that the soldiers aimed to terrorize and humiliate them.
Nabilah further explained that during her detention, the occupation soldiers separated her from her 13-year-old daughter and 4-year-old son. She added that she is currently residing in a shelter in Rafah with other released female prisoners.
It is worth mentioning that the occupation forces have arrested hundreds of Palestinians, both men and women, during their ground invasion of Gaza. Their families have no information about their whereabouts, whether they were arrested from their homes, shelters, or military checkpoints in the Gaza Strip.
Rights organizations confirm that the occupation soldiers torture Gaza detainees in degrading ways, such as demanding that detainees bark before being given meals, or forcing detainees to sing songs praising Israel. These organizations have reported that some of the recently released detainees heard the screams of the prisoners around the clock, and that the torture operations were continuous and relentless.
