Palestinian prisoner sexually abused by Israeli soldiers in ‘critical condition’: Media

JERUSALEM (AA) – A Palestinian detainee sexually abused by Israeli soldiers at the Sde Teiman Prison in the Negev desert has been transferred to an Israeli hospital in critical condition, the Israeli public broadcaster KAN has said.

The state-run broadcaster did not reveal the name of the prisoner.

The broadcaster said that the victim was transferred to Sde Teiman from Ofer military prison near Ramallah in the occupied West Bank.

“The prisoner’s transfer was considered exceptional in light of an order by the Supreme Court to reduce the number of detainees at Sde Teiman,” KAN said.

Ten Israeli soldiers are accused of gang molestation of the prisoner at the notorious detention facility. Nine soldiers were detained on Monday for “questioning” as part of an investigation into the abuse.

Following the arrest, right-wing protesters, including politicians, broke into two military bases in southern and central Israel to protest against the detention of the soldiers accused of the gang rape.

Several reports have emerged of severe abuses of Palestinian detainees at Sde Teiman Prison since the start of Israel’s ongoing offensive on the Gaza Strip.

The Israeli army is believed to have arrested thousands of Palestinians, including women, children, and medics since October 7, 2023.

In recent months, the army has released dozens of Palestinian prisoners from Gaza in deteriorating health conditions, with their bodies bearing torture scars.

Israel has killed at least 39,400 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and nearly 91,000 have been injured, according to local health authorities.

Over nine months into the Israeli war, vast tracts of Gaza lie in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water, and medicine.

According to a research by The Lancet journal, the actual number of casualties in Gaza including those gone missing, buried under the rubble or those who died of malnutrition or infectious diseases may be well over186,000- which is 8% of the entire population of Gaza.