Israel frees 5 Gazan detainees after harsh imprisonment conditions

GAZA CITY, Palestine/ ISTANBUL

Israel released five Palestinian detainees from the Gaza Strip after months in detention, the Hamas-run Prisoners’ Information Office said Tuesday.

The office said that the freed detainees were transferred by Red Cross teams to the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in central Gaza for medical examinations.

Palestinian detainees previously set free by Israel reported abuses, torture, and malnutrition inside Israeli detention facilities.

In October, Israel released nearly 2,000 prisoners, including 1,700 from Gaza, under a ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement with Hamas. Most of those set free at the time arrived in poor health, with several recounting experiences of torture, starvation, and humiliation inside Israeli prisons.

More than 10,000 Palestinians, including women and children, remain imprisoned in Israel, where they endure medical neglect and conditions that have led to the deaths of numerous detainees, according to Palestinian and Israeli human rights organizations.

Phase one of the ceasefire deal includes the release of Israeli hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners. The plan also envisages the rebuilding of Gaza and the establishment of a new governing mechanism without Hamas.

Israel has killed more than 70,000 people, mostly women and children, and injured over 170,000 others in two years of attacks in Gaza since October 2023.