GAZA CITY, Palestine

Since Oct. 7, 2023, Israel has intensified its use of deliberate starvation as a tool of torture against Palestinian prisoners in its detention centers.

“Prison guards and staff have turned into ‘monsters and Nazis’ since 2023,” Sami Jaradat, a freed Palestinian prisoner, told Anadolu.

Jaradat, 57, was set free by Israel last week under a Gaza ceasefire and prisoner swap agreement with Palestinian factions.

Since Oct. 7, 2023, Jaradat, who was arrested by Israel in 2003 and slapped with multiple life sentences, has lost around 30 kilograms (66 pounds) due to malnutrition and harsh detention conditions.

"After Oct. 7, 2023, prison conditions changed drastically," Jaradat said. “Treatment of any Arab prisoner, except Druze, has become monstrous and Nazi-like.”

On Saturday, the Geneva-based Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor said that the majority of Palestinian prisoners freed from Israeli prisons showed severe health deterioration, with many exhibiting significant weight loss – clear evidence of deliberate starvation.

The rights group said that Israeli prison authorities have deprived Palestinian detainees of medical treatment throughout their imprisonment.

"Israel has transformed its jails into institutionalized torture facilities” post Oct. 7, it added.

Humiliation, terror

Jaradat said Palestinian prisoners were subjected to humiliation, severe beatings, terrorism, and deliberate starvation.

“I have lost more than 30 kilograms of my weight,” he said.

Palestinian prisoners earlier told Anadolu that their food portions in Israeli detention were insufficient even for a two-year-old child. They also reported beatings by prison guards.

Repeated requests by Jaradat, who has a catheter implanted in his abdomen, for hospital visits were rejected by the Israeli prison service.

“The prison service aims that no prisoner remains alive, so it deliberately neglects medical treatment,” he said.

The freed prisoner recalled an incident after a surgical operation, when a doctor assured the guards that his condition was stable. The guards immediately replied: "Let him die; we don’t care about him."

Israeli prison guards “are inhumane and lack conscience and morals,” he added.

Unknown fate

Jaradat called the conditions of Palestinians from Gaza in Israeli detention “tragic” and “extremely harsh.”

“We had no knowledge about their conditions, but we heard news that they were being treated even worse than us,” he said.

He also recounted reports that Israeli guards would hang prisoners from Gaza upside down by puncturing their feet.

Thousands of Palestinians are believed to have been arrested by the Israeli army during the course of Tel Aviv’s genocidal war on the enclave.

Jaradat described his freedom from Israeli detention as incomplete.

“We were freed at a high price paid by the Palestinian people in Gaza in terms of their lives, money and homes with our people living in unenviable living conditions,” he said.

Jaradat, originally from Jenin in the northern West Bank, was deported by Israel to Gaza after his release, a move that prevented him from reuniting with his wife, children, and grandchildren after decades of separation.

The freed prisoner, who the marks of beating are still visible on his neck, said he and 19 other prisoners were supposed to be sent to Egypt but were instead “deceptively” and “violently” thrown near Gaza’s borders.

“Israeli soldiers threw the prisoners out of the bus while they were handcuffed and beat them severely,” he said.

The released prisoners were forced to walk three kilometers to reach their destination.

Hundreds of Palestinians were set free by Israel in return for 18 captives, including five Thai workers, under the ceasefire deal that took effect on Jan. 19.

According to Israeli daily Haaretz, Red Cross representatives were "angry" over the way Israel released the last batch of Palestinian prisoners last week as they were led out in shackles with their hands behind their heads.

Unlike the frail Palestinian detainees, the freed Israeli captives from Gaza appeared in good health, dressed neatly, and were given gifts upon their release.

The Gaza ceasefire agreement halted Israel’s genocidal war that killed over 47,500 people and left the enclave in ruins.

The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants in November last year for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin 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.