In a corner of his partially destroyed home in Hamad City, north of Khan Yunis, the liberated prisoner Jibril Al-Safadi (48 years old) sits in a wheelchair, bearing the scars of captivity in his body and the pain of loss in his heart. His journey to freedom from the occupation's prisons was not as he had imagined; he returned to find himself without a leg and without a son, in a story that encapsulates the chapters of double Palestinian suffering between prison walls and the machinery of war outside.
The tragedy began on March 4, 2024, when occupation forces arrested him at the Hamad City checkpoint, leading him to spend one year, eight months, and nine days in captivity. Al-Safadi entered prison with a healthy body, but he soon faced a systematic policy of medical neglect from the very first moments of his arrest, as severe pains began to afflict his right leg without his cries receiving any response from the jailers.
Al-Safadi recounts harsh details of his continuous screaming days inside the cell, confirming that he spent eight days calling on the soldiers to save him from pain and bleeding, but the response was always insults and humiliation. With his health deteriorating dangerously, he was transferred to the medical center to be faced with two bitter choices: either amputation of the leg or facing certain death, forcing him to sign documents in a language he did not master.
Al-Safadi's journey inside prison ended with the loss of his limb, but the greater shock awaited him at the gate of freedom in October 2025, when he learned of the martyrdom of his only son, 22 years old. The son was the family's primary provider in his father's absence and was killed in an Israeli raid targeting the area, turning the dream of reunion into an insurmountable tragedy.
The Palestinian liberated prisoner describes the news of his son's martyrdom as harsher than all the forms of torture he endured in interrogation centers, including 'Sde Teiman' camp and 'Ofer' prison. He affirms that his return to his dilapidated home was not a victory as much as it was a new confrontation with a bitter reality, where he became unable to move and support his wife and five daughters under extremely difficult humanitarian conditions.
Regarding the conditions inside prisons, sources quoted Al-Safadi as saying that detainees live in a deadly environment lacking the most basic human necessities, where starvation and severe beatings prevail. He pointed out that the occupation has turned prisons into centers for systematic abuse, where prisoners lose their lives or limbs due to the absence of deliberate medical care and repeated physical assaults that do not stop.
Al-Safadi's case reflects the reality of thousands of Palestinian prisoners who face a similar fate amidst widespread international silence regarding the crimes committed behind bars. Human rights calls are escalating for the necessity of opening an international investigation into cases of amputation and medical neglect suffered by detainees from the Gaza Strip, and ensuring their protection in accordance with the Geneva Conventions and international humanitarian law.
Today, Jibril tries to adapt to his new life in his wheelchair, surrounded by the city's destruction and the memories of his late son, in a scene that embodies the resilience of the Palestinian people in the face of attempts at annihilation. His story remains a living testament to the brutality of the violations practiced by the occupation authorities against prisoners, which go beyond merely depriving them of freedom to depriving them of bodies and souls.
For eight days, I screamed and called out to the male and female soldiers, but there was no response; instead, I was subjected to humiliation and insults.
شارك برأيك
His leg was amputated and he lost his only son.. The released prisoner, Jibril Al-Safadi, recounts chapters of suffering between occupation prisons and the Gaza genocide