Palestinian prisoners released by the Israeli army after detention in Gaza have detailed the severe physical and psychological torture they endured.
The group, who suffered abuse at the hands of Israeli forces in the Gaza Strip, was transported to Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza, by Palestinian Red Crescent Society teams.
The Palestinians, showing signs of torture on various parts of their bodies and appearing exhausted, described the abuse they faced to Anadolu Agency (AA).
Mahmoud Basim Mahmoud Ahmed, one of the released prisoners, said the Israeli army forced detainees to lie face down, set dogs on them and administered electric shocks.
Forced to eat feces
"You had to keep your hands tied above your head from 4 a.m. to midnight. If you turned right or left, they would set the dogs on you," Ahmed said.
"They brought two pieces of bread a day. After eating the bread, you had to lie on your stomach for 24 hours. If you went on a hunger strike, they forced you to eat feces," he said.
Ahmed added that some prisoners, suspected by Israeli soldiers of having connections with resistance fighters, were taken to the 12th floor of the building for torture and then brought back down while still being tortured.
"What we experienced there in 40 to 60 days felt like 12 years," he said.
Bark like dogs
Said Abu Watfa, who was detained at the Kerem Abu Salem border crossing, said Israeli soldiers held a group of young Palestinians at the border for four hours, tied to a wall.
Watfa said the soldiers stripped the detainees, administered electric shocks to their sensitive areas, broke their teeth and did not provide any medicine.
Watfa, subjected to various forms of psychological and physical torture, said: "At night, when we needed to go to the toilet, they would say 'bark.' We had to bark to use the toilet. They forced me to bark and also to curse my government, my relatives, my sister and my wife."
35 days in shackles
Muin Muhammad Abdussatir Muhammad, detained in the Jabalia refugee camp and held in an Israeli prison for about four months, said: "We went through very tough days. They set dogs on us at night and tortured us a lot. We have never seen such torture."
Marwan Mesad Shaar, a 20-year-old detained by Israeli soldiers while distributing aid and imprisoned for 31 days, said they endured various types of torture, including electric shocks, beatings and humiliation.
Asked about the conditions in the Israeli prison, Shaar responded: "We weren’t living."
Khalid Abulkerim, detained during a raid in the Shuja'iyya neighborhood of Gaza City and released after 35 days, said their hands and feet were always shackled during imprisonment, and they experienced both physical and psychological torture.