GENEVA (Reuters) – A U.N. official accused Israel on Friday of degrading treatment of Palestinians detained in Gaza, reporting testimonies of men beaten, blindfolded, some released in the cold with only a diaper for clothing “.
Ajith Sunghay, representative of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights in the Palestinian Territories, told journalists that “thousands” of Palestinians had been arrested since the launch of the Israeli offensive against Hamas. , on October 7. He added that the UN was not able to identify the exact number of prisoners in the hands of the Jewish state.
“There are men who were detained for 30 to 55 days, in secret locations,” he said by videoconference from Gaza.
Those he was able to meet in Gaza after their liberation speak of violence and beatings.
“We have testimonies of men who were released wearing one layer, without adequate clothing for the cold weather,” he said.
Asked to explain the reasons, Ajith Sunghay replied: “We don’t know exactly why they were released and why they were put in diapers but they were visibly shocked, shaken when I met them.”
The Israeli armed forces and the Israeli government were not immediately available for comment.
An Israeli army spokesperson recently said that prisoners were treated in accordance with international conventions and were asked to strip to ensure they were not carrying weapons or explosives.
(Reporting Emma Farge; with contributions from Gabrielle Tetrault-Farber in Geneva and Henriette Chacar in Tel Aviv; French version Sophie Louet, edited by Blandine Hénault)
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