Israeli army claims to establish committee to examine conditions of Gazan detainees

JERUSALEM

Israel’s army Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi has formed a committee to study the conditions of Palestinian detainees from the Gaza Strip, the military claimed on Tuesday.

“Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi decided to form an advisory committee to study the conditions of war detainees in military-controlled prisons,” the army said in a statement.

It said the move followed recommendations of the Military Advocate General, MG Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi, and with the approval of Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.

The army claimed that detainees from Gaza are “temporarily held for initial questioning in facilities under the army’s responsibility, during which the need for further detention is examined.”

“When further detention is deemed necessary, detainees are transferred to Israel Prison Service facilities,” it continued.

According to the army statement, the committee is "tasked with studying the conditions of detainees in the Sde Teiman, Anatot, and Ofer camps” and will submit its recommendations within 21 days.

“The advisory committee will examine the conditions of detention, the treatment of detainees, the proper management of the detention facilities, and overall compliance with Israeli and international law within the facilities,” it added.

The move followed reports by human rights groups about the torture and death of Palestinian detainees in the Sde Teiman desert prison in southern Israel, which was established after the start of the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip.

Thousands of Palestinians are believed to have been detained by the Israeli army in Gaza, including women, children, and members of health and civil defense teams. A small number of them have been released, but the fate of the others remains unknown.

Israel has continued its brutal offensive on the Gaza Strip since Oct. 7, 2023 following a Hamas attack despite a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire in the enclave.

Nearly 36,100 Palestinians have since been killed in Gaza, the vast majority being women and children, and over 81,000 others injured, according to local health authorities.

Nearly eight months into the Israeli war, vast swathes of Gaza lay in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water and medicine.

Israel stands accused of “genocide” at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which in its latest ruling has ordered Tel Aviv to immediately halt its operation in Rafah, where over a million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war before it was invaded on May 6.

*Writing by Rania Abu Shamala in Istanbul