Palestinian woman recounts harrowing details of rape and torture in Israeli prisons

Please note that this article contains extremely graphic depictions of rape, sexual assault, and torture. Extreme caution is advised.

The Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR) documented the shocking testimony of a 42-year-old Palestinian woman who, during her recent detention by Israel in northern Gaza, was subjected to sexual assault and severe torture in an Israeli prison.

Her testimony is a stark example of the systematic policy of sexual violence and psychological and physical torture practised by the Israeli occupation against Palestinian detainees.

Arrest and Enforced Disappearance

According to her testimony to PCHR, she was arrested while crossing an Israeli checkpoint in November 2024 and taken to an unknown location, blindfolded, where a series of organized and systematic violations began. She said:

I was tied up and stripped naked, and subjected to repeated beatings and psychological abuse. I felt as though all my humanity was being stripped from me, and that I was merely a tool for humiliation and oppression.

In her testimony to the human rights center’s staff, N.A. spoke of being subjected to various forms of torture and sexual violence, including being raped four times by Israeli soldiers, as well as being repeatedly verbally abused with obscene language, stripped naked and photographed, electrocuted, and beaten all over her body.

One Palestinian woman’s rape and torture at the hands of Israel

The detainee, N.A., explained to the centre’s lawyer:

In the early morning hours, I heard the soldiers shouting that prayers were forbidden in the morning, and I believe it was the fourth day of my detention in Gaza.” I was taken by soldiers to an unknown location because I was blindfolded. They ordered me to undress, which I did. They then placed me on an iron table, forcing my chest and head against it. My hands were tied to the bedpost, and my feet were forcibly pulled apart. I felt a penis being inserted into my anus and felt a man’s body raping me. I started screaming, and they began hitting me on my back and head. I was still blindfolded, and I felt the man ejaculate inside my anus. I screamed and was beaten the whole time. I could hear a camera; I think they were filming me. The rape lasted about 10 minutes. Afterward, I was left in the same position for an hour, with my hands cuffed to the bedposts, my face on the bed, and my feet on the floor. I was completely naked.

Another hour later, I was raped again in the same position. A penis was inserted into my vagina, and I was beaten while screaming. There were several soldiers present, and I could hear their laughter and the sound of a camera recording. The rape was very brief, and there was no ejaculation. During the rape, I was beaten on the head and back.

I can’t describe what I felt; I wished for death every moment. After the rape, I was left alone in the same room, handcuffed to the bed, naked for hours. I could hear soldiers outside speaking Hebrew and laughing. Then, I was raped again vaginally, and I screamed, but they beat me whenever I tried to resist. After about an hour, I don’t know the exact time, a masked soldier entered, removed the blindfold, and lifted the hood from his face. He was fair-skinned and tall. He asked me if I spoke English. I said no. He said he was Russian and asked me to touch his penis, but I refused. He then punched me in the face after raping me.

So, on that day, I was raped twice and left naked in the room for three days. On the first day, I was raped twice. On the second day, I was raped twice. On the third day, I was left naked while they looked at me through the keyhole and photographed me. One of the soldiers told me, “We will post your pictures on social media.” While I was in the room, I started my period, at which point I was told to get dressed and was moved to another room.

The Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR) noted that this testimony reflects a recurring pattern of violations against Palestinian detainees, including women, in Israeli prisons, and constitutes part of the ongoing crimes against humanity and genocide against the people of Gaza.

Urgent Human Rights Demands

In light of this testimony, PCHR called on the international community, including the United Nations and the States Parties to the Convention against Torture, to take immediate action to end these brutal practices. PCHR also urged the release of Palestinian detainees held arbitrarily and called for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to be granted unrestricted access to places of detention to ensure the protection of their rights and lives.

PCHR emphasised that all women and Palestinians subjected to sexual torture in Israeli prisons face a double threat under the current system. A law allowing the death penalty for Palestinian prisoners exacerbates the already dire situation and necessitates urgent international action.

This woman’s testimony is a cry from the heart of Palestinian suffering, revealing the extent of the humiliation and psychological and physical destruction inflicted upon detainees. It confirms that what is happening in Israeli prisons is a systematic policy aimed at destroying the Palestinian people, not merely isolated incidents of abuse.

Featured image via the Canary