‘Disappeared’ – another grubby stain darkening Israel’s descent into calumny and perdition

Muhammad Amin

“Disappeared”. It’s another “badge of dishonour” the Israeli military can nail to its war standard, somewhere amidst the other badges for “child killing”, “hospital destruction”, “ambulance targeting”, “doctor assassination”, “journalist annihilation”, “concentration camps guarding”, “torture prison torturing”, plastered in grimy profusion on Israel’s global reputation.
Palestinian officials say abductions have risen alarmingly in northern Gaza where the Lawnmowers have been grinding out a deliberate campaign of extermination for over a month.
The Commission of Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs and the Palestinian Prisoners Society have told Al-Mayadeen more than 1000 people have been abducted from northern Gaza, amid the forced disappearances of hundreds of detainees, with no clear data on the total number of those abducted from Gaza.
The uncertainty adds another level of palpable horror to the unfolding catastrophe, because relatives hover for weeks, months in dreadful uncertainty, not knowing if loved ones have been abducted and are being tortured, or if they’ve been bundled off to holding cells, or perhaps are lying unidentified on a hospital bed, or worse, are crushed in an unidentifiable jumble beneath rubble somewhere.
Israeli prison administration numbers for November indicate 1,627 Gazan detainees are classified as “unlawful combatants”, a category that excludes detainees in detention camps.
Visits by legal teams to Ofer Camp have uncovered harrowing accounts of torture, medical neglect, and inhumane conditions, the organisations say.
Every aspect of the torture camps is designed to aggravate the detainees’ stays, with routine procedures converted into gruelling sessions aimed at sapping their strength and breaking their will.
“One detainee, a double amputee identified as A.A., described during the visits being subjected to repeated beatings. He recounted being lifted by his cellmates to the cell door opening to extend his hands out up until the armpits, where guards violently struck and twisted his arms as punishment for his inability to participate in roll calls.
“‘Despite my amputated legs, the Israeli administration forces me daily to lie on the ground on my stomach for hours during inspections,’ he testified, adding that he has been shackled continuously since his arrest in February 2024, causing severe pain and injuries.
“The testimonies also revealed that detainees are systematically deprived of basic necessities, including hygiene products, and are only allowed to shower once every ten days for a maximum of three minutes. Inspections, conducted four times a day, involve detainees being forced to lie face down for extended periods, with noncompliance resulting in physical punishment.”
“Security inspections”, a daily torture routing in Ofer Camp, occur four times daily until midnight. During inspection, detainees are forced to lie face down on the ground for two hours while all cells are inspected. Any misdemeanor results in punishment.
Even transport to court sessions turn into a struggle to survive. Starting at 7am, detainees are confined in a metal cage and forced to sit in stressed positions, on their knees or stomachs, until court proceedings conclude.
The two organizations condemned these practices as part of a pattern of abuse and systematic torture. They again urged international organizations to intervene and hold “Israel” accountable, knowing their calls are likely to fall on deaf ears and stony hearts.