Three Gazans were found dead following their release from Israeli custody, according to a relative and a witness
Within days of being released from Israeli custody, the three men from Gaza turned up dead, coming in the wake of controversy and grave worries over the treatment of detainees. According to families and eye-witnesses, Fadi Bakr, Younis al-Hamlawi, and a third man who was not named all appeared in terrible health, showing signs of severe mistreatment upon return to their homes.
A law student, Fadi Bakr, spoke of his capture in January 2024: he had been captured by Israeli soldiers after being involved in a gun battle in which he was injured, but according to him, he was stripped, beaten, and accused of being a militant, although he insisted he was a civilian. He was later transferred to the Sde Teiman military base, where he said he was subjected to painful interrogations and squalid conditions. Senior nurse Younis al-Hamlawi was arrested in November when he left Al-Shifa Hospital during an Israeli raid. He was also suspected of working with Hamas and was treated like Bakr.
The fact that these are the deaths of men raises issues not only about the detention and treatment of Palestinians by Israeli authorities. Severe conditions in Israeli detention facilities have been documented by reports from various sources, including the United Nations. Detainees have reported being blindfolded and shackled while receiving beatings and other forms of abuse. Some have required amputations due to prolonged shackling, and there are accounts of insufficient medical care and overcrowding.
The Israeli military has, however, continually denied this claim and argued that such detentions are equitably carried out in conformity with Geneva Conventions, their thinking being that such measures are security-related. Extreme criticism, however, has come from human rights groups and the UN against the denial of access to counsel and the conditions under which they are held. The UN aired severe concerns with the conditions in which these detainees were kept and demanded more humane treatment, which hands-down brought accountability for abuses.
These are the latest in a worrying trend of Gazans dying in Israeli custody. Human rights groups demand that these cases be thoroughly investigated. The international community, on its part, is following the various developments very closely, urging both sides to adhere to humanitarian standards as they protect the rights of individuals caught in the conflict.
