UN: Israel is detaining Palestinians from Gaza on a broad scale and subject them to ill-treatment

GAZA, Jan. 20 (YPA) – The United Nations has reported that Israeli occupying forces have likely detained thousands of men in the Gaza Strip since the beginning of the war against Hamas, and they often face conditions that may amount to torture.

Head of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Ajith Sunghay, said that Israel is detaining Palestinians from Gaza on a broad scale, including many civilians, held in secrecy, often subject to ill-treatment, with no access to their families, lawyers or effective judicial protection.

“The families of detainees – believed to number in the thousands – have not been provided with information on the fate or location of their loved ones,” he said during a press conference in Geneva.

He stressed that there are men who were detained by Israeli forces in unknown locations for between 30 to 55 days.

“They described being beaten, humiliated, subjected to ill-treatment, and to what may amount to torture. They reported being blindfolded for long periods – some of them for several consecutive days.”

E.M