ISTANBUL

The Israeli army released 10 Palestinian teenage boys on Thursday after detaining them for nearly a month from the al-Shakoush aid distribution area in northwest Rafah, southern Gaza, an area previously designated as a “safe corridor” for humanitarian relief.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) transferred the boys to Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, where an Anadolu reporter observed visible signs of severe physical abuse and exhaustion on the detainees.

According to firsthand accounts, the boys were arrested while attempting to obtain humanitarian aid.

One of them, Karam Hamdi Hussein, told Anadolu: “They beat us continuously. They gave us rotten food, and we had to eat it while our hands were tied. The al-Shakoush area was supposed to be safe—it turned out to be a trap.”

He confirmed that a group of children is being held in Israel's notorious Sde Teiman prison, which has been widely reported to have abusive detention conditions.

“We spent an entire month under constant beatings and daily humiliation,” Hussein added.

Another released teenager, identified only as Omar, was too weak to speak due to extreme fatigue, according to the Anadolu correspondent on the scene.

The release comes amid a growing pattern of violations by Israeli forces at aid distribution points in Gaza.

As recently as June 1, UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini warned that accessing aid in Gaza had become a “death trap,” urging Israel to lift the blockade and allow safe distribution of food under UN supervision.

The Israeli government has made no official comment on the teens' detention or the circumstances surrounding their release.

According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, over 1,083 people have been killed and more than 7,275 wounded while attempting to access food at aid distribution points since the war began.

Israel has killed more than 59,500 Palestinians, most of them women and children, in the Gaza Strip since October 2023. The military campaign has devastated the enclave, collapsed the health system, and led to severe food shortages.

Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.