UNRWA employees detained, tortured by Israeli army

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
5 Mar 2024 01:43
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Despite visible signs of torture and abuse on UNRWA employees, "Israel" dismissed the agency's allegations as "baseless."

Israeli soldiers take position as they enter the UNRWA headquarters in Gaza, Thursday, Feb. 8, 2024. (AP)

UNRWA on Monday accused the Israeli occupation forces of detaining "several of its staff from the Gaza Strip" who later reported experiences of torture and abuse while they were in custody.

"Our staff have reported atrocious events while they were detained and during interrogations by the Israeli authorities. These reports included torture, severe ill-treatment, abuse, and sexual exploitation," UNRWA said in a statement to AFP.

"Some of our staff have conveyed to UNRWA teams that they were forced to confessions under torture and ill-treatment" while being asked about the October 7 events.

"These forced confessions as a result of torture are being used by the Israeli authorities to further spread misinformation about the agency as part of attempts to dismantle UNRWA," the agency said.

"This is putting our staff in Gaza at risk and has serious implications on our operations in Gaza and around the region."

UNRWA stated it had sent a formal protest regarding the detentions but had not yet received a response. "Israel", in response to AFP on Monday, dismissed the UNRWA allegations as "baseless."

Israeli occupation forces torture civilians to force fake confessions.

Ahmad Abu Khamis, a Palestinian man, suffered a 50-day detention at the hands of the Zionists after being captured from a shelter centre in Gaza along with all the men who were displaced in an Unrwa school. pic.twitter.com/6pfLgyJ0tm
— Rozza (@M96381436) March 1, 2024

Torture

UNRWA recently issued a report detailing instances of abuse experienced by over 100 released detainees. Testimonies included those of males and females ranging in age from 6 to 82 years old, pointing out that some of them died in custody.

It estimates that around 3,000 other detainees remain in Israeli detention without legal representation.

The detainees confirmed that during detention they were beaten, stripped, robbed, blindfolded, sexually abused and denied access to lawyers and doctors, often for more than a month.

According to the New York Times, the report states that such treatment "was used to extract information or confessions, to intimidate and humiliate, and to punish."

The report noted that among the detainees were individuals suffering from Alzheimer’s disease, intellectual disabilities, and cancer. It added that many had been detained from northern Gaza after sheltering in schools and hospitals or after trying to flee south, while others were Gazans holding permits to work in Palestinian territories occupied in 1948 and later detained by Israeli occupation forces after the aggression started on October 7.

Some released detainees told UNRWA investigators that they had been attacked by military dogs and beaten by Israeli occupation forces on open wounds.

The forthcoming #UNRWA report aligns with numerous other reports from various human rights organizations, highlighting instances of torture and abuse by Israeli occupation forces, according to accounts of released detainees.

These findings emphasize the importance of swift… pic.twitter.com/TXWEh6blvl
— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) March 4, 2024

Several male detainees said Israeli forces had beaten them on their genitals, while some females said they experienced "inappropriate touching during searches and as a form of harassment while blindfolded," the report indicated, adding that several women were forced to strip in front of male Israeli soldiers.

It is noteworthy that the UNRWA report echoes numerous other reports published by human rights monitors and organizations and media outlets about torture and abuse practiced by Israeli occupation forces based on testimonies from released detainees.

Israeli defamation campaign

Israeli accusations targeting the 12 UNRWA employees prompted 16 major donors to halt contributions amounting to $450 million, coinciding with a period where over two million residents in Gaza are confronting the threat of famine due to the Israeli genocide and total blockade.

UNRWA warned that it is reaching a "breaking point", and possesses funds only adequate for sustaining operations for the next month, at best.

Despite the lack of evidence backing such claims, Philippe Lazzarini, the head of the agency said he was compelled to terminate several employees due to pressure exerted on the agency.

On February 29, 50 US Congress members urged for the resumption of UNRWA funding to deliver critical humanitarian assistance to the Gaza Strip.