Palestinian released from Israeli prison in ‘shocking’ health condition: NGO

ISTANBUL

Israel released a Palestinian man in a “shocking” health condition on Tuesday after nine months in detention, according to a local nongovernmental organization.

Muazzam Khalil Abayat, 37, from the West Bank city of Bethlehem, was detained by Israeli forces last October and held without charge under Israel’s notorious policy of administrative detention.

“Abayat was released from the Negev prison in a grave and shocking health condition,” the Palestinian Prisoner Society said in a statement.

According to the NGO, Abayat was brutally beaten during his arrest in late October 2023.

“He was subjected to a series of vicious assaults, including torture and starvation,” it said. “His health condition after his release today serves as a testament to what he endured during his detention.”

Abayat was previously detained twice by Israeli forces. He did not suffer any health problems before his latest arrest.

At least 3,380 Palestinians, including women and children, are currently held without charge in Israeli prisons, according to Palestinian figures.

Israel, flouting a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire, has faced international condemnation amid its continued brutal offensive on Gaza since an Oct. 7, 2023 attack by Palestinian group Hamas.

More than 38,200 Palestinians have since been killed, mostly women and children, and over 88,000 others injured, according to local health authorities.

Nine months into the Israeli war, vast tracts of Gaza lie in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water, and medicine.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, whose latest ruling ordered it to immediately halt its military operation in the southern city of Rafah, where over a million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war before it was invaded on May 6.