Geneva – The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) reported that some of its employees and other people detained by Israeli forces in Gaza were subjected to ill-treatment, especially severe beatings and forced nudity.
UNRWA said in a report published on Tuesday that staff who were detained, in some cases while carrying out their official duties, “were held incommunicado and subjected to the same conditions and ill-treatment as other detainees,” which it said included several different forms of abuse.
The agency said employees reported being beaten, waterboarded, threatened with rape, electrocuted, and forced to strip, among other forms of mistreatment.
“UNRWA has submitted formal protests to the Israeli authorities regarding the reported treatment of agency employees while they were in Israeli detention centers,” she said. She added, “UNRWA has not received any response to these protests yet.”
The Israeli army said that it acts in accordance with Israeli and international law, and that those it arrests are given food, water, medicine and appropriate clothing. The army and the Israeli Prison Service did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the allegations contained in the UNRWA report.
US State Department deputy spokesman Vedant Patel said when asked regarding the report on Wednesday that the United States was “deeply concerned” and would press Israel to fully investigate these allegations and hold the perpetrators accountable.
The Palestinian Prisoners’ Club said that Israel refuses to disclose information regarding the number of people from Gaza it has arrested during the past six months or their places of detention.
UNRWA documented the release by the Israeli authorities of 1,506 detainees from Gaza, including 43 children and 84 women, through the Kerem Shalom crossing until April 4.
UNRWA stated that the released detainees were subjected to “humiliation and humiliation, such as being forced to behave like animals or urinating on them, being forced to listen to loud music and noise, being deprived of water, food, sleep, and toilets, being deprived of the right to pray, and being shackled for long periods, which caused open wounds.” And injuries resulting from contact.”
UNRWA said, “The detainees were threatened with detention for long periods, and that their family members would be injured or killed if they did not provide the required information.”
“In most of the reported arrest incidents, the Israeli army forced males, including children, to strip to their underwear,” she added. UNRWA also documented at least one occasion where males seeking refuge in an UNRWA facility were forced to completely undress and were detained naked.”
The Israeli military operation in Gaza began in response to an attack launched by the Palestinian faction movement on October 7, which resulted in the killing of 1,200 people and the taking of 253 hostages, according to Israeli statistics.
The continuous bombing since then has led to the death of more than 33,000 Palestinians, according to Palestinian medics, the displacement of the majority of Gaza’s population of 2.3 million people, and caused a serious humanitarian crisis.
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2024-04-18 21:44:34
