Palestinian journalists detained by Israel have reported beatings, starvation, sexual violence and other forms of torture being inflicted on them while in custody, a charity revealed on Thursday.
Fifty-eight out of 59 journalists interviewed said they were abused, according to a report, We Returned From Hell, published by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ). Of those, 48 were held without charge under what is known as "administrative detention", which can be renewed indefinitely every six months.
"In their testimonies, journalists described beatings, some resulting in severe injuries, starvation, medical neglect, as well as sexual violence, including rape," said the report. Its findings are consistent with testimony from other Palestinian prisoners released from Israeli jails and documented in reports by UN investigators and human rights groups.
Those locked up also described psychological threats, being forced into stress positions causing prolonged pain, and prolonged exposure to loud noise and music. The CPJ said it had seen documentation and evidence such as photographs, as well as medical and legal reports.
The journalists also reported being denied adequate legal representation. Seventeen said they were unable to speak to a lawyer at all.
CPJ chief executive Jodie Ginsberg said the "scale and consistency" of the testimonies suggested the abuse went "far beyond isolated misconduct".
Since the Gaza war broke out, Israel has detained at least 94 Palestinian journalists in Gaza, the West Bank and Israel, of whom 30 remain in custody as of this week. The number of Palestinian "security prisoners" in Israeli prisons has nearly doubled since October 7, 2023, from about 5,200 to a peak of more than 10,000, as Israel launched a military offensive on Gaza and raided occupied West Bank towns and refugee camps in search of suspected militants.
CPJ regional director Sara Qudah said the Israeli tactics "expose a deliberate strategy to intimidate and silence journalists, and destroy their ability to bear witness".
Amin Baraka, 36, was working for Al Jazeera when he was detained at a checkpoint in southern Gaza in January 2024. His wife and three children were injured in an Israeli attack and living in a school building. He said Israeli soldiers threatened to kill his family.
“An Israeli soldier told me, word for word in Arabic, that 'Al Jazeera correspondent Wael Al Dahdouh defied us and stayed in the Gaza Strip, so we killed his family, and we will kill yours too,'” the committee reported him as saying.
Mr Baraka reported being subjected to physical and psychological abuse. The food was “in quantities unfit even for children, amounting to one third of what an average person needs”, he said, adding that he lost 30kg.
His testimony is one of dozens similar to it. Almost all of the 59 journalists interviewed reported "extreme hunger or malnutrition", with the CPJ calculating an average 23.5kg weight loss among those locked up. Last year, Israel's High Court ruled that prisons were failing to provide enough food for detainees. This month, the Association for Civil Rights in Israel also issued a report showing detainees had reported dramatic weight loss.
At least 17 of the journalists interviewed by the CPJ reported sexual abuse and more than 19 said they were subject to humiliating strip searches.
CPJ officials called for global action against the detention of journalists. "The continued silence from the international community only enables this,” Ms Qudah said.
The CPJ said it had emailed Israel's Minister of National Security and the Ministry but received no response. The National had earlier emailed the Israeli Prison Service about jail conditions but received no response.
