A Palestinian abductee who was among the prisoners released over the weekend by Israel as part of the recent ceasefire deal has recounted the tragic ordeal and brutal torture that he has been through in the occupying regime’s detention.
Ibrahim Mohammad Khaleel al-Shawish said in his testimony that for 45 days, he was “blindfolded, shackled, and forced to kneel” before being transferred to Israel’s Negev prison, where he endured “electric shocks and attacks by dogs.”
Shawish is from Beit Hanoun in northern Gaza and was arrested on December 10, 2023. His face vividly bore the signs of severe malnourishment and torture.
Describing the horrendous condition of Israeli barracks where he was kept as “indescribable,” Shawish said: “Whatever form of torture you can think of is there. They would use electric shocks on you and electricity was used in torture. In addition, dogs were used in torture.”
Al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas, on Saturday, handed over three Israeli captives to the International Committee of Red Cross (ICRC) in Deir al-Balah city in the central Gaza Strip.
Israel, in return, released 183 Palestinian prisoners as part of the fifth phase of the prisoner exchange deal under the ceasefire agreement with Hamas.
Of the freed prisoners, 42 were from the occupied West Bank, three from Jerusalem al-Quds, and 27 from the Gaza Strip, all serving life sentences or lengthy terms, the Palestinian Commission of Detainees’ and Ex-Detainees’ Affairs said in a statement.
Seven of the freed prisoners would be deported outside Palestinian territories, the statement noted.
The Gaza ceasefire deal which went into effect on January 19 ended the 15-month Israeli war on Gaza and resulted in the release of captives still held in the blockaded territory in return for hundreds of Palestinian abductees held illegally in Israeli jails.
Israel has released a list of more than 700 Palestinian abductees to be released under the deal
