Meanwhile, 126 government offices and 92 schools and universities were completely destroyed, while 285 schools and universities were partially damaged.

115 mosques were completely destroyed, while 200 others were partially damaged, in addition to three churches.

Human rights defender Ayman Lubbad speaks of his detention by Israeli occupying forces in Gaza

RAMALLAH, Thursday, December 28, 2023 (WAFA) -

The Israeli occupation forces (IOF) have been carrying out mass detentions of Palestinians since the start of their ground invasion of the Gaza Strip, said The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights, Al Mezan, and Al-Haq in a statement.

A military chief of the IOF announced that, as of 17 December 2023, they had taken over a thousand Palestinians captive in Gaza. This announcement followed the emergence of photos and videos on social media platforms, exposing the inhuman and degrading treatment of Palestinians in the city of Bait Lahya, in the northern Gaza Strip. The published pictures and videos showed hundreds of detainees—including children—forced to sit on the street, half-naked and stripped of their clothes in harsh weather conditions, before being transferred in packed Israeli military trucks to unknown locations.

Among those detainees was Ayman Lubbad, a researcher in the Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights Unit at the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR), who was staying at his family home in the northern city of Bait Lahya. He was detained on 7 December 2023 and was released at the Karm Abu Salim (Kerem Shalom) crossing south of the Gaza Strip on 14 December 2023. Currently, he finds himself in Rafah city, separated from his wife and three children. For almost a week, no one had any information on Ayman’s whereabouts or well-being.

In a testimony, Ayman recounted the dreadful experience he had to endure, exemplifying the inhumane and degrading treatment that Palestinian detainees in Gaza have been subjected to in different Israeli detention facilities:

“On 7 December 2023, at approximately 10:00 am, we heard the IOF ordering people, through loudspeakers, to leave their houses and ‘surrender’ themselves. Women and the elderly were instructed to go to Kamal 'Adwan Hospital, while men and boys as young as 14 were instructed to strip and kneel in the street.

“Israeli soldiers shot our neighbor, Mu'hammed Al-Ka'hlout, injuring his hand. They inappropriately photographed us while we were half-naked and forced some of us to dance. They also burned the houses belonging to Al-Muqayd, Mahdi, Al-Ka'hlout, and Sorour families in front of us.

“On the same day at noon, we were taken to the Zikim area by the sea, where we remained until late at night. I learned later that some detainees were released. They took the rest of us to Ofekim military base, handcuffed and blindfolded. As soon as we arrived there, I was given the number 059775 and brought before an interrogator to provide my personal information. Upon learning that I work for a human rights organization, the interrogator threateningly said: ‘I will teach you your rights very well in prison.’

“Later, we were taken to a detention facility designated for Gaza detainees. It was surrounded by barbed wires and had two high places for the emplacement of soldiers. There were 500-700 detainees with one bathroom for each place.

“The IOF were abusing us on a daily basis from around 5:00 am until midnight. We were only allowed to sit on our knees. Any attempt to change the position or remove the blindfold was faced with a severe punishment, including standing with hands raised above the head for over three hours. I, along with a group of detainees, was transferred to a similar place about which we had no information. We could hear the drones taking off and landing. During my transfer, I was beaten by Israeli soldiers several times for no reason. They hit me continuously on my rib cage. I could not sleep for two nights because of the severity of the pain.

“On Monday, 11 December, I was transferred to a new detention facility, it was better than the previous two places. We were held inside the detention facility without being handcuffed or blindfolded, able to move and sleep without much disturbance from the soldiers. I later learned from some detainees that we were in a place located in Jabal Al Mukabbir in Jerusalem.

“At noon of the same day, I underwent an interrogation that lasted until 10 pm, a continuous interrogation session. The interrogator took my personal data and began the interrogation by saying that he was mentally ill and off medication. He insisted that his questions were accurate and demanded that I tell him all the information I had about members of Hamas and Islamic Jihad. He delved into the nature of my work at PCHR and sought my opinion about what happened on 7 October. He said that they would start to treat the people of Gaza like ‘dogs.’

“The interrogator questioned and pressed me on extended relatives and their alleged relationship with Hamas. I tried to explain to him that I do not have answers to his questions due to my weak and limited social interaction I have with these distant family members. He threatened me, cursed me, and hit me in the face. As he became angrier he kept on repeating the same questions. He demanded that I try to remember. He kept on coming in and going out of the room. Each time he left the room, he covered my eyes with a blindfold.

“The last time he returned, I repeated to him that I did not have any information or details. At the end of the interrogation, he got up, angrily, blindfolded me, and violently took me out of the building. I stayed for about an hour in the open air sitting on my knees blindfolded. I could not bear the extreme cold, several soldiers came and beat me, and told me ‘Every dog has its day’.

“I could hear other detainees screaming as they were getting beaten in a way that was worse than the beating I had to endure.  Around an hour later, I was taken back to the detention area. Most of those detained with me were workers from Gaza who were arrested in Israel after the 7th of October and Palestinians arrested from the so-called ‘humanitarian corridor’ on Salah-Al-Deen Street, which Israel opened for civilians moving from the north to the south of Gaza. Most of the detainees have been detained for about 30-40 days.

“Late on Wednesday night, 13 December 2023, they woke us up while sleeping to count the number of detainees. We noticed that they had brought several handcuffs along with other boxes which turned out to be containing the detainees’ belongings. Civilian buses appeared, so we knew that they would release us. When we got on the bus, the soldiers put cuffs on our hands and legs. Every two detainees were tied together. 

“On Thursday, 14 December 2023, at approximately midnight, the buses started moving from the detention facility until we reached the Karm Abu Salem crossing, east of Rafa'h, at approximately 05:00 am. They removed the cuffs from our hands and legs. We got out of the bus and started walking towards the Palestinian side. I had nothing in my possession except my ID card. I contacted my family members who remained in the Bait Lahya area to inform them that I got out and went to look for my displaced relatives in the city of Rafa'h.”

Ayman’s case is exemplary of the inhumane and degrading treatment as well as torture that Palestinian detainees are subjected to. Hundreds (actually more than 2,520 by 12/27/2023) of Palestinians from Gaza are believed to be still detained in Israeli detention facilities and their place of detention and fate are unknown. Israeli media has reported the death of six Palestinians in Israeli prisons since the 7th of October with at least two dying in Israeli detention facilities, said the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights, Al Mezan, and Al-'Haq. “Our organizations express their deep concern over the detainee’s safety and health,” they added.

The three human rights organization’s lawyers tried to contact the Israeli occupying forces to request information on Palestinian detainees, but the Israeli occupation regime refused to divulge any information about who is being detained and in what conditions, “a conduct which amounts to enforced disappearance,” they said. “As proven from Ayman’s case, there is strong evidence which suggests that they may be subjected to systematic torture.”

The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights, Al Mezan, and Al-'Haq reiterated their demand for an end of the enforced disappearance of hundreds of Palestinian detainees, including dozens of women, from Gaza, and that their whereabouts and names be revealed, as well as the immediate halt to the ongoing torture and abuse during arbitrary arrest and detention of people from Gaza, and the Palestinian detainees and prisoners in general.

“We reiterate our call on the relevant international organizations and the international community to intervene promptly to protect Palestinian civilians and exert pressure on the Israeli authorities to release all arbitrarily detained Palestinians,” they said.

M.K.

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Video appears to show at least two children stripped and detained by IDF in Gaza stadium among Palestinian men

By Abeer Salman, Ibrahim Dahman, and Mitch McCluskey,

CNN, Wednesday, December 27, 2023

An edited video circulating on social media appears to show Palestinian men and at least two children detained and stripped by the Israel (occupation) Forces (IOF) in a stadium in northern Gaza.

Clips in the video show what appear to be two young boys in one frame, stripped down to their underwear, walking and holding both their hands up as the Israeli occupation soldiers direct them in the stadium.

In another clip, two figures who appear to be the same young boys stripped of their clothing are seen with their hands above their heads, as they are lined up in single file lines with other males who appear to be teens and adults.

CNN is unable to verify when the video was shot. A CNN geolocation of the video shows it was filmed in Yarmouk Stadium in Gaza City, where NGO Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor has said it received reports of detentions.

Hundreds of Palestinian men and boys have been detained by Israeli forces in recent weeks. In the past, the Israeli (occupation) forces said it has stripped detainees to ensure they were not carrying explosives.

Throughout the video, men can be seen stripped down to their underwear. In some clips, the detainees are sitting on the floor with their hands tied to their backs, some blindfolded, and standing in single file lines as soldiers overlook and inspect them.

Clips of the video also show women and other children detained. In one shot, three fully clothed women are seen blindfolded with their hands tied behind their backs as they sit on the grass in front of a soccer goal in the stadium. An Israeli flag is seen hanging on the soccer goal.

Stripped and blindfolded Palestinian men – their hands also tied behind their backs – are seen sitting next to the women.

Military vehicles and bulldozers are also seen throughout the stadium in the video.

The original video was uploaded on December 24 to YouTube by Yosee Gamzoo Letova, a photographer and artist, according to his Facebook profile.

A still from a video appears to show Palestinian men and at least two children detained and stripped by the Israel (occupation) Forces in a stadium in northern Gaza. Yosee Gamzoo Letova A still from a video appears to show Palestinian women and men blindfolded with their hands tied behind their backs as they sit on the grass in front of a soccer goal in the stadium. Yosee Gamzoo Letova

The non-profit Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor says it has received information that the Israeli army is detaining hundreds of Palestinians from the Sheikh Radwan neighborhood of Gaza City, among them dozens of women who were taken to Yarmouk Stadium.

“Palestinian males, including children as young as 10 years old and elderly people over the age of 70, were forced to take off all of their clothes except their underwear and line up in a humiliating manner in front of the women detained in the same stadium,” the human rights organization said in a statement. The organization is calling on the international community to investigate the images of detainment.

At least 20,915 people in Gaza have died since war with Israel began on October 7, according to the Hamas-controlled Ministry of Health. Nearly 55,000 more people have been injured, the ministry said. CNN cannot independently verify the numbers released by the ministry in Gaza, as access to the enclave is limited and reliable numbers are hard to confirm amid the fighting.

Hamas will not reenter negotiations with Israel “without a comprehensive cessation of aggression,” according to Izzat Al-Rishq, a member of the militant group’s political bureau.

“Hamas leadership seeks a permanent cessation to the aggression and massacres against our people. Our people want to see this aggression completely halted, and do not want to wait for a temporary or partial truce for a short period, after which the aggression and terrorism might fatally continue,” read the statement by Al-Rishq.

Israel meanwhile has vowed to continue its siege – which has included intensive aerial bombardment and a sustained ground invasion – until Hamas is eradicated. Herzi Halevi, the Israeli (occupation) forces chief of general staff, said Tuesday that the campaign would continue for “many more months.”

“It is taking place in a complex area. Therefore, the war will continue for many more months, and we will operate in various ways – so that the achievement will be preserved over time,” Halevi said at a press briefing.

Video appears to show at least two children stripped and detained by IDF in Gaza stadium among Palestinian men | CNN

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Urgently investigate inhumane treatment and enforced disappearance of Palestinians detainees from Gaza

Amnesty International, December 20, 2023

Amnesty International is deeply concerned for the fate and whereabouts of Palestinians from the occupied Gaza Strip detained by Israeli forces amid reports of mass enforced disappearances.

On 16 December the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) declared it had received “numerous disturbing reports” from northern Gaza “of mass detentions, ill-treatment and enforced disappearances of possibly thousands of Palestinians,” including children.

Photos and video footage verified by Amnesty International’s Crisis Evidence Lab show Israeli forces’ inhuman and degrading treatment of detainees in Beit Lahia, a city in northern Gaza. The fate and whereabouts of many of these detainees remains unknown.

Other Palestinians from the Gaza Strip, including workers or others with permits to enter Israel, also remain forcibly disappeared. Israeli authorities have confirmed the deaths in custody of at least six Palestinians, including two workers from Gaza in October and November.

“We are currently investigating the reports of mass enforced disappearances of Palestinian detainees by Israeli forces. The Israeli military must urgently disclose the fate and whereabouts of everyone that it has detained since 7 October including Nidal al-Waheidi and Haitham Abdelwahed, two journalists from Gaza who have been forcibly disappeared for more than two months. Israeli forces must specify the grounds of arrest for those detained, and make every effort to provide families of those in its custody with information, particularly in light of the telecommunications blackouts that have cut off Gazans from each other and the rest of the world,” said Heba Morayef, Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa.

“All detainees must be treated humanely and guaranteed the right to a fair trial and due process. All those detained arbitrarily must be released. Israel has an appalling track record of impunity for violations by its forces, underscoring the urgent need for an independent effective investigation into all deaths in custody, reports of enforced disappearance, torture and other ill-treatment of Palestinians from Gaza.”

Nidal al-Waheidi and Haitham Abdelwahed, two journalists from the occupied Gaza Strip, were detained by Israeli forces on 7 October while they were reporting on the Hamas-led attacks in Israel by the perimeter of the Gaza Strip. They were last seen at the Erez crossing between the Gaza Strip and Israel. Since then, Israeli authorities, namely the Israeli army, police and Prison Services, have refused to disclose their whereabouts or the legal grounds for their arrest – conduct which amounts to enforced disappearance.

The organization’s concerns for the fate of detainees from Gaza are heightened by the sickening images and videos verified by Amnesty International’s Crisis Evidence Lab that have emerged in recent weeks showing Palestinian men stripped of their clothes and forced to kneel on the floor in their underwear with their hands tied,  with Israeli soldiers standing over them.

Amnesty International’s Crisis Evidence Lab geolocated three photos and one video that were posted to social media on 7 December showing dozens of men being detained by Israeli forces in the streets of Bait Lahya (Beit Lahia), a city in northern Gaza. Photos show detainees stripped to their underwear, some with likely identification documents laid in front of them. One of these photos shows detainees being transported with their hands bound to another location without being provided clothing.

“These men were stripped of their dignity and dehumanized in violation of international law. Nothing can justify mocking or deliberately humiliating detainees. The right of detainees not to be tortured or treated in an inhuman or degrading way is absolute and applies to all people, regardless of whether or not they take part in the hostilities. Torture, inhuman treatment, enforced disappearances, and outrages upon personal dignity committed in situations of armed conflict and occupation are war crimes, when committed as part of a systematic or widespread attack against civilians they amount to crimes against humanity,” said Heba Morayef.

“The distressing scenes from Gaza should draw international condemnation and warrant urgent investigation and measures to prevent further torture, enforced disappearance and other crimes under international law. The world must ensure that such acts are not normalized but are recognized as an affront to humanity.”

Background:

Palestinians from Gaza who have been forcibly disappeared include Palestinians detained inside Gaza as well as Palestinians detained inside Israel. An unknown number of Palestinians from Gaza with permits to enter Israel, mostly workers, remain forcibly disappeared. They were among thousands arbitrarily arrested by Israeli forces many of whom were later released.

On 18 December Haaretz reported that there have been several deaths in custody of detainees from Gaza held at Beersheba Airfield military base, where at least three detention facilities, in addition to a newly built one, can hold up to 200 detainees each. According to the Haaretz report, the detainees, who include children and older people, are kept “blindfolded and handcuffed for most of the day”.

URGENT ACTION: PALESTINIAN JOURNALISTS FORCIBLY DISAPPEARED

Nidal al-Waheidi and Haitham Abdelwahed are journalists from the occupied Gaza Strip. Both were detained by Israeli forces on 7 October while they were reporting the Hamas-led attack and are held in conditions constituting enforced disappearance. Since then, Israeli authorities have refused to disclose their whereabouts or the legal grounds and reasons for their arrest. Two and a half months since their disappearance, and no information has been shared about their whereabouts, not even confirmation that they are still alive. Israeli authorities must immediately disclose their whereabouts and the legal grounds for their arrest, grant them access to legal representation and ensure their humane treatment. t. Unless charged with an internationally recognized criminal offence, they must be immediately released.

Urgently investigate inhumane treatment and enforced disappearance of Palestinians detainees from Gaza - Amnesty International

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South Africa files genocide case against Israel at World Court

Story by Reuters, December 29, 2023

By Wendell Roelf and Toby Sterling

AMSTERDAM/CAPE TOWN (Reuters) -

South Africa asked the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on Friday for an urgent order declaring that Israel was in breach of its obligations under the 1948 Genocide Convention in its crackdown against the Palestinian group Hamas in Gaza.

The ICJ, sometimes known as the World Court, is the United Nations venue for resolving disputes between states. Israel's foreign ministry said in a reaction the suit was "baseless."

South Africa's filing alleged Israel was violating its obligations under the treaty, drafted in the wake of the Holocaust, which makes it a crime to attempt to destroy a people in whole or in part.

It asked the court to issue provisional, or short-term, measures ordering Israel to stop its military campaign in Gaza, which it said were "necessary in this case to protect against further, severe and irreparable harm to the rights of the Palestinian people".

No date has been set for a hearing.

While the ICJ in The Hague is considered the U.N.'s highest court, its rulings are sometimes ignored. In March 2022 the court ordered Russia to immediately halt its military campaign in Ukraine.

South Africa's government has shown some of the strongest support Al Jazeera South Africa’s historic support for Palestine

South Africa has backed the Palestinian cause for statehood in Israeli-occupied territories for decades, likening the plight of Palestinians to those of the Black majority in South Africa during the repressive apartheid-era, a comparison Israel vehemently denies.

(Reporting by Toby Sterling in Amsterdam and Wendell Roelf in Cape Town; Additional reporting by Maayan Lubell in Jerusalem; Editing by Susan Fenton and Howard Goller)

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