“I was raped four times”: Palestinian woman details abuse in 'Israeli' detention

Editor's Note: The following article contains highly graphic details of sexual abuse.

• Systematic Abuse: Testimonies reveal widespread sexual and physical torture of Palestinian detainees in ‘Israeli’ detention facilities.
• Call for Action: PCHR urges international intervention, release of detainees, and protection for survivors amid looming death penalty risks.

The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) has published alarming testimonies detailing systematic sexual abuse and torture of Palestinian detainees in 'Israeli' prisons and detention camps. According to PCHR, these abuses are part of an organized policy rather than isolated incidents, reflecting deliberate practices aimed at humiliating and breaking Palestinian detainees physically and psychologically.

The testimonies come from detainees recently released from 'Israeli' prisons, including men and women from the Gaza Strip. They describe being subjected to rape, forced stripping, sexual assault using objects and dogs, beatings, electric shocks, and sustained psychological torment.

Survivor Accounts: Sexual and Physical Torture

Among the documented cases, N.A., a 42-year-old Palestinian woman, recounted being repeatedly raped during her detention in northern Gaza:

“At dawn I heard the soldiers shouting, saying that morning prayers were forbidden... They put me on a metal table, pressed my chest and head against it, cuffed my hands to the end of the bed, and pulled my legs apart forcefully. I felt a penis penetrating my anus and a man raping me. I kept screaming and being beaten, and I could hear a camera—so I believe they were filming me... Again, after an hour, I was raped fully in the same position, with penetration into my vagina, and I was beaten while I screamed... On the first day I was raped twice; on the second day I was raped twice; on the third day I remained without clothes while they looked at me through the door slit and filmed me.”

Other detainees also shared horrifying experiences. A.A., a 35-year-old man, described being raped by a dog in Sde Teiman military camp:

“They brought dogs that climbed on us and urinated on me. Then one of the dogs raped me—the dog did it deliberately, knowing exactly what it was doing... while the soldiers kept beating and torturing us and spraying pepper spray in our faces... The dog’s assault lasted about three minutes; the overall suppression lasted about three hours... I suffered a severe psychological breakdown and deep humiliation; I lost control because I could never have imagined experiencing such a thing.”

Another male detainee, T.Q. aged 41 years old, explained being sexually assaulted with a wooden object during 22 months of detention:

“One of the soldiers raped me by violently inserting a wooden stick into my anus... After another minute he removed it and forced me to open my mouth and put the stick in my mouth to lick it. From sheer anguish I lost consciousness for minutes, until a female officer came and forced them to stop beating me.”

M.A., an 18-year-old re-arrested near a humanitarian aid distribution point, described repeated sexual assaults with a bottle:

“The soldiers ordered me and six other detainees to kneel, and they raped us by inserting a bottle into the anus, pushing it in and pulling it out. It happened to me four times, with about ten in-and-out motions each time. It happened to me four times, with about ten in-and-out motions each time. I screamed, and so did the others with me. Of the four times, twice it was just me, and twice it was with others—once with six people and once with twelve people. I saw what they were doing to the others while they did it to me, and I realized it was a bottle. There was also a dog behind us, as if the dog was raping us... They violated our dignity and destroyed our spirits and our hope for life.”

Read more: Analysis: 'Israel' has an image to protect, a crime to ignore

PCHR Calls for International Action

PCHR stressed that these abuses are not isolated acts but part of systematic policies that may amount to genocide under international law. The organization urged the international community, including UN bodies and human rights institutions, to take immediate action to end the torture and arbitrary detention of Palestinians.

PCHR also called for unrestricted access to detention facilities by the International Committee of the Red Cross and for immediate medical and psychological care for survivors. The organization expressed deep concern over recent 'Israeli' legislation allowing the death penalty to be applied to Palestinian political prisoners, warning that coerced confessions could lead to mass executions.

Longstanding Concerns Over Treatment of Palestinian Detainees

The PCHR highlighted that previous reports, including a detailed 2025 study based on 100 released detainees, documented consistent patterns of torture, degrading treatment, and inhumane detention conditions. According to PCHR, the abuses violate international humanitarian law and human rights standards, demonstrating an urgent need for accountability and protection for Palestinian detainees.

PCHR affirmed its commitment to continue documenting abuses, collecting evidence, and submitting it to international accountability mechanisms, including the International Criminal Court.

The testimonies of Palestinian detainees expose a systematic pattern of sexual, physical, and psychological abuse in 'Israeli' detention facilities. PCHR’s documentation underscores the urgent need for international intervention to protect human rights, ensure the safety of detainees, and hold perpetrators accountable.