Prisoner Ali Al-Samoudi emerged from the depths of prisons, trying to regain his exhausted strength, to bitterly recount the details of a harsh experience he described as a real hell that words cannot describe. His testimony and the testimonies of his comrades reveal a tragic reality lived by thousands of Palestinian prisoners since October 7, where detention rooms have turned into arenas for systematic revenge practiced by the occupation army away from the eyes of international oversight.
Shocking data issued by prisoner institutions indicate the martyrdom of about 90 detainees inside detention centers since the beginning of the war, who died as a result of the policy of 'slow killing' and deliberate neglect. Survivors recount harsh moments of comrades who died in cells while jailers watched their agony with cold blood, in a scene that reflects the stripping of prison administration of the lowest humanitarian and legal standards in dealing with detainees.
The violations did not stop at severe beatings, but extended to include performing complex surgical interventions on prisoners without the use of any type of medical anesthesia, turning treatment rooms into human slaughterhouses. Testimonies also documented the use of sexual assaults and threats of rape as tools to extract confessions and break the morale of prisoners, in addition to humiliating practices including urinating on detainees and continuous cursing.
On another note, the prison administration follows a policy of 'emptying the intestines' by systematically starving prisoners, which led to detainees losing tens of kilograms of their weight and appearing with emaciated bodies resembling skeletons. This policy was accompanied by complete isolation from the outside world, where doors are closed to international human rights organizations, while they are opened to Israeli media to portray this suffering as political achievements for the extremist National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir.
The issue of prisoners is a fundamental pillar in the history of the Palestinian conflict, yet the current phase is classified as the most bloody and cruel since 1967. Prisons, which were once arenas for confrontation and strikes, have now become a place where prisoners are deprived of their most basic right to survival, amidst real fears of the continuation of these crimes in light of the complete international silence and the escalating pace of official Israeli incitement.
Seeing hell with your own eyes is not like hearing about it; this is how editor Ali Al-Samoudi summarized the reality of thousands of prisoners whose bodies have become arenas of revenge.
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Testimonies from 'Hell'.. Palestinian Prisoners Face Slow Death and Policies of Crushing Dignity