What we know about the torture, abuse of Palestinian prisoners by Israel
Most of the bodies of the more than 100 dead Palestinians Israel released remain unidentified.
They were sent back to Gaza with numbers instead of their names, leaving family members of missing Palestinians to pore desperately through pictures of the bodies, hoping to spot their loved ones.
One thing is clear from the marks left on these bodies, and the blindfolds and handcuffs still on some of them: They had been tortured before their deaths, possibly executed.
The torture was confirmed by Palestinian detainees released alive by Israel as part of the Gaza ceasefire deal that has also seen the release of Israeli captives from Gaza.
Reports that Israel tortures Palestinian detainees in its jails have been common for years, and have increased since the start of Israel’s war on Gaza, with some Israeli politicians even defending the practice.
At least 75 Palestinian detainees have also died in Israeli jails since October 7, 2023, according to the United Nations.
One particularly notable documented incident of abuse was the gang rape of a Palestinian prisoner by guards at the notorious Sde Teiman detention facility in Israel last year. Verified video shows Israeli prison guards using their shields to hide from the camera before proceeding to rape the victim, who was left unable to walk, Israeli media reported.
Targeting Barghouti
There are still about 9,000 Palestinian detainees still in Israeli jails – one of the most prominent is Palestinian leader Marwan Barghouti, who Israel refuses to release.
Barghouti was found guilty by Israel in 2004 of being responsible for attacks against Israelis and is serving several life sentences.
He refuses to accept the jurisdiction of the Israeli court system and endorses nonviolent resistance, as well as a two-state solution.
Polls regularly find Barghouti to be the most popular Palestinian leader, and he has often been compared to the anti-apartheid leader and former South African President Nelson Mandela.
Barghouti’s son, Arab, told Al Jazeera this week that Israel has singled his father out for exceptionally harsh treatment, including a beating by guards in mid-September that left him unconscious.
One released prisoner, Mohammad al-Ardah, said that Israeli forces had broken Barghouti’s ribs in three places.
Israel has denied the mistreatment of Barghouti and other Palestinian prisoners, but has not substantiated that defence with evidence.
Far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir appeared in an August video shouting at and threatening Barghouti. He is the man in charge of Israel’s prison service.
Arab Barghouti said Ben-Gvir showed his father an electric chair and told him it was his fate.
Ben-Gvir has taken pride in the treatment of Palestinian prisoners under his watch, and defended soldiers alleged to have abused the detainees, saying that “summer camps and patience for the terrorists are over”.
