The U.N. human rights office issued a report Wednesday saying Palestinians detained by Israeli authorities since the Oct. 7 attacks have faced waterboarding, sleep deprivation, electric shocks and other torture and ill-treatment.
GENEVA — The U.N. human rights office issued a report Wednesday saying Palestinians detained by Israeli authorities since the Oct. 7 attacks have faced waterboarding, sleep deprivation, electric shocks and other torture and ill-treatment.
The detention report says Israel’s prison service was holding more than 9,400 “security detainees” as of the end of June, and some have been held secretly without access to lawyers or respect for their legal rights.
A summary of the report, based on interviews with former detainees and other sources, denounces a “staggering” number of detainees (including men, women, children, journalists and human rights defenders) and says such practices raise concerns about arbitrary detention .
“Testimony collected by my office and other entities indicates a series of atrocious acts, such as waterboarding and the release of dogs on detainees, among other acts, in flagrant violation of international human rights law and international humanitarian law,” said the UN Human Rights. Chief Volker Türk in a statement.
The conclusions of the report, one of the most extensive of its kind, could be used by prosecutors at the International Criminal Court investigating crimes committed in connection with the October 7 attacks and its consequences, including Israel’s fierce military campaign that continues in Gaza.
The report’s authors said its contents were shared with the Israeli government. The Associated Press has contacted the Israeli diplomatic mission for comment.
The war in Gaza broke out after Hamas ‘ surprise attack on southern Israel on October 7, killing about 1,200 people that day and taking another 250 hostage. Israel’s retaliatory operation has destroyed entire Gaza neighborhoods and forced around 80% of the population to flee their homes. Gaza’s Health Ministry says more than 39,000 Palestinians have been killed, without distinguishing between civilians and combatants in its count.
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