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GENEVA —Thousands of Palestinians have been arbitrarily and secretly detained, subjected to torture and mistreatment by Israeli authorities since the October 7 attack by Hamas that touched off the war in Gaza, according to a report published Wednesday by the U.N. Human Rights Office.
"The large number of Palestinian men, women, children, doctors, journalists and human rights defenders have been detained since October 7, most of them without charges or trial and held in deplorable conditions," the report says.
"Many of those detained and subsequently released have reported being subject to torture or other forms of ill-treatment, including severe beatings, electrocution, being forced to remain in stress positions for prolonged periods, or waterboarding" the report says. "At least 53 detainees from Gaza and the West Bank have died in Israel since 7 October."
The report finds that "conditions in military-run detention facilities appear to be worse, with widespread ill-treatment." It says detainees report "they were held in cage-like facilities, stripped naked for prolonged periods, wearing only diapers." Many described in vivid detail various forms of torture and ill-treatment to which they were subjected. Some women and men also spoke of sexual and gender-based violence.
In a statement to coincide with the release of the report, U.N. human rights chief Volker Türk said the report raises concern Israel is committing "flagrant violation of international human rights law and international humanitarian law," he said.
U.N. human rights officials note that Israeli authorities have said they were investigating several soldiers for allegedly abusing a Palestinian prisoner earlier this month at the Sde Teiman detention center in the Negev desert.
On Monday, far-right lawmakers broke into the army base protesting the investigation of the nine soldiers who allegedly abused the Palestinian man.
The U.N. report finds the Israel Defense Forces have taken into custody thousands of Palestinians in Gaza, mostly men and boys, but some women and girls as well, and transferred them to detention facilities and prisons inside Israel and the occupied West Bank.
In a statement that covered hostages kidnapped by Hamas as well as Palestinians taken prisoner by Israel, authors of the Human Rights Office report said, "Those taken into custody in Gaza, as well as in Israel, have been generally held in prolonged secret and incommunicado detention," with no information provided to their families, "raising serious concerns of enforced disappearance."
The authors said the Israeli military does not usually explain the basis for taking Palestinians into custody, "although it has in some cases alleged affiliation with Palestinian armed groups or their political wings."
Israel has denied the International Committee of the Red Cross access to all Palestinian detainees in its custody since October 7.
The report says that Palestinian armed groups also have prevented the ICRC from visiting hostages taken during the Hamas raid on southern Israel that day.
The 23-page report is based on interviews with Palestinians, released detainees and other victims and witnesses, civil society organizations, and Israeli and Palestinian governmental officials, among others. The report was shared with the governments of Israel and the State of Palestine, "for factual comment."
VOA contacted the Israeli mission in Geneva for comment but did not get a response.
Report says Hamas' hostages suffer, too
The U.N. report also criticizes the Palestinian Authority for continuing "to carry out arbitrary detention and torture or other ill-treatment in the West Bank, reportedly principally to suppress criticism and political opposition."
Authors of the report describe the conditions under which detainees are kept, the use of beatings, prolonged stress positions and threats to pressure confessions out of those held on criminal charges.
Accounts from released Gaza hostages in the report describe the conditions they endured while in captivity.
"Some described being beaten while being taken into Gaza, or seeing other hostages being beaten while in captivity. ... Others reported witnessing the sexual abuse of other hostages - both male and female," the authors wrote.
"International humanitarian law protects all those being held, requiring their humane treatment and protection against all acts of violence or threats thereof," High Commissioner Türk said.
The U.N. human rights chief reiterated his call for the immediate release of all hostages still held in Gaza and for the release of all Palestinians arbitrarily detained by Israel.