Palestine Journalists Return From Israeli Prisons: “We Came Back From Hell”

Released Palestinian Reporters Reveal Unimaginable Suffering in Israeli Detention

“Hell on Earth”: What Journalists Endured Inside Israeli Jails.

Palestinian journalists released from Israeli detention facilities have repeatedly described their experiences as a descent into “hell,” with many echoing the phrase “we returned from hell” to encapsulate the profound trauma inflicted upon them. This sentiment, voiced by figures like Imad Ifranji, stems from harrowing accounts documented in a February 2026 report by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), which interviewed 59 journalists detained since October 7, 2023, with 58 reporting systematic torture and abuse.

These reporters, often held without charges under administrative detention, were primarily from Gaza and the West Bank, and their testimonies highlight a pattern of deliberate mistreatment aimed at breaking their spirits and deterring their journalistic work.

Facilities such as Sde Teiman, frequently referred to as “hell” by detainees, along with Shatta, Ktzi’ot, Ofer, Etzion, Megiddo, and Al-Jalama, emerged as sites of consistent abuse, aligning with broader human rights reports from organizations like B’Tselem, which have labeled Israeli detention centers a “network of torture camps.”

Physical assaults formed a core component of the reported torture, with 56 journalists detailing repeated beatings that began at arrest and continued through transfers and intake processes.

These included ritualistic “welcomes” like the “al-Tashreefeh” at Sde Teiman, where detainees were shackled, blindfolded, and forced through corridors lined with soldiers who pummeled them with batons, kicks, and metal instruments, often resulting in broken ribs, fractured bones, torn menisci, herniated discs, and deep wounds that bled profusely. Journalists like Mustafa Khawaja suffered multiple fractures from a March 2024 assault at Shatta, while Mohammed Badr’s tongue was lacerated during a beating at Ktzi’ot, impairing his ability to eat or speak for weeks. Electroshocks and pepper spray were interspersed with strikes, as reported by Islam Ahmed and Osama al-Sayed, and specific vulnerabilities were targeted—Imad Ifranji’s recent kidney surgery site was repeatedly hit.

Other tactics involved cigarette burns on bare skin, as endured by Abdul Mohsen Shalaldeh, and attacks by trained dogs during forced nudity, with soldiers filming and laughing. Mohammed Nafez Qaoud’s foot wounds from intake beatings became infested with worms due to untreated infections, and Mohammad al-Atrash described “Shin Bet parties” at Ofer involving dozens of assailants using dogs and metal tools, leaving permanent scars.

Forced stress positions and sensory deprivation tactics were employed to induce prolonged physical and psychological agony, affecting roughly two-thirds of the interviewed journalists. Thirty-six reported being restrained in excruciating poses for hours or days, including the “strappado” or “ghost hanging,” where arms were bound behind the back and hoisted upward, causing severe shoulder and joint damage.

Others were compelled to kneel, lie face down, or stand motionless under pouring rain, scorching sun, or even sewage water, exacerbating injuries and leading to infections like scabies and boils. Sensory deprivation amplified this torment: detainees like Ahmed Abdel Aal were blindfolded for five days in isolation, stripped naked, and subjected to continuous beatings. Fourteen journalists described “disco rooms” at Sde Teiman and elsewhere, small cells blasting unrelenting Hebrew and English songs at deafening volumes for days on end, preventing sleep and causing disorientation; any lapse into unconsciousness was met with electroshocks or blows.

Typical for PSYOPS and BlackOps Missions.

Sound bombs were used post-arrest, as noted by Osama al-Sayed, Yousef Sharaf, and Imad Ifranji at Al-Shifa Medical Complex, while constant dog barking added to the auditory assault. Lama Khater was blindfolded during interrogations and forced to listen to documentaries on Hamas attacks, blending psychological manipulation with physical restraint.

Sexual violence emerged as a particularly degrading and pervasive form of abuse, detailed in 17 testimonies, including two accounts of rape. Sami al-Sai recounted being taken to a cell at Megiddo where his trousers and underwear were removed, and he was penetrated with batons and other objects, an ordeal that left him silent for months until hearing similar stories from others.

Osama al-Sayed and detainees at Sde Teiman described being stripped naked and attacked by dogs in ways they characterized as rape, with guards mocking and recording the scenes. Genital assaults were common: an anonymous journalist had his genitals bound with zip ties and beaten until he urinated blood, with assailants taunting that he “would no longer be a man.”

Other acts included attempted forced penetration with objects, coerced nudity for humiliation, and explicit threats of rape against the detainees or their families. These violations were often intertwined with interrogations, where journalists were pressured to become informants or abandon their profession, underlining a targeted campaign against media workers.Starvation, medical neglect, and threats compounded the physical and sexual abuses, creating an environment of total dehumanization.

55 journalists reported extreme malnutrition, with an average weight loss of 23.5 kilograms—Ahmed Shaqoura lost 54 kilograms over 14 months at Ktzi’ot and Al-Jalama, subsisting on moldy bread and rotten food that induced vomiting blood in cases like Ashwaq Ayad’s. Medical neglect affected 27, with untreated fractures, eye injuries (as in Thaer Fakhoury’s case, leading to temporary blindness), asthma attacks, and infections stitched without anesthesia; sanitary products were denied to women, and conditions fostered widespread skin diseases.

Doctors often condoned or participated in the abuse, dismissing severe injuries with callous remarks like “Why did you call me if he isn’t dead yet?”

Threats permeated 31 accounts: journalists like Amin Baraka were warned that their families would be killed like Wael Dahdouh’s, while Mohammad al-Atrash was told to cease even innocuous social media posts.

Many faced promises of re-arrest if they spoke out, leading 10 to request anonymity, and access to lawyers was denied in 21 cases, ensuring impunity for the perpetrators.

The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) and Israel Prison Service have denied these allegations of mistreatment, asserting that no systematic abuse occurred.