All forms of inhuman treatment, including torture and sexual violence, constitute “war crimes,” said Sarah Hashash, Amnesty International’s Deputy Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa.

Hashash said in press statements on Monday that the latest investigation conducted by Amnesty International documented torture and other inhumane treatment of Palestinian detainees in the Israeli Sde Teiman detention center and other detention centers.

She pointed out that the organization revealed how Israel uses the "Unlawful Combatants Law" as a tool to arbitrarily detain Palestinians indefinitely without charge or trial, in violation of international law.

The organization indicated that it conducted interviews with 27 former detainees, all of whom were civilians (20 men, 6 women and 1 child) from the Gaza Strip, and that all of them were subjected to torture and other forms of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment by the occupation forces, its intelligence and the occupation police during periods of their detention when it was not possible to communicate with them.

“The horrific news that a Palestinian detainee was gang-raped in the Sde Teiman facility provides fresh evidence of the horrific torture and other ill-treatment of Palestinian detainees documented by Amnesty International in its latest investigations,” she said.

She stressed that the incident of sexual torture of the Palestinian detainee also shows that Israel must immediately allow independent observers access to detention centers, noting that the organization had previously met with Palestinian detainees in "Sde Teiman" and other detention centers.

“Amnesty International calls on the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court to urgently investigate all allegations of torture, including sexual violence, against Palestinian detainees,” she added, noting that “the Israeli judiciary has an appalling record of failing to credibly investigate allegations of torture against Palestinians.”

The occupation forces have continued their aggression on the Gaza Strip by land, sea and air since October 7, 2023, resulting in the martyrdom of 39,623 citizens and the injury of 91,469 others, while thousands of victims are still under the rubble and on the roads, and ambulance and civil defense crews cannot reach them.