Sixty Palestinian detainees returned to Gaza after long detention and abuse allegations

Sixty Palestinians detained by Israel have been returned to Gaza and examined at Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis, where relatives and medical teams met them after their transfer by the International Committee of the Red Cross. The men arrived frail, injured and, in several cases, unable to walk, according to the supporting report. Their return has drawn renewed attention to the treatment of detainees held during the war in Gaza.

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The men were brought to the hospital on Monday for examination after being handed over by the Red Cross. Israel said they were released after interrogations determined they were no longer security suspects. One rights group, HaMoked, said nearly 1,300 people from Gaza remain held by Israel as unlawful combatants, placing the latest release in a wider pattern of detention and transfer.

Several of the released men described severe mistreatment during detention. Abdullah Kilani said he was seized in December 2024 on Salah al-Din Street in central Gaza and held for more than 18 months, during which he and another detainee were shot. Another man, who gave his name as Abu Ibrahim, said prisoners were kept seated on bare concrete or iron slabs and that he was injured when guards beat him with rifle butts.

Mohammed Jabr al-Majdalawi, 43, said he was held for a year and nine months and only learned of his release when he met Red Cross staff for the transfer. The release is described as the largest prisoner release since the first phase of the ceasefire in Israel's war on Gaza, which took effect in October. That makes the transfer significant not only for the men involved, but also for the broader question of how detainees are handled during the conflict.

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The account from Gaza also points to the humanitarian strain facing released detainees, with one reporter noting that conditions in the territory have deteriorated under blockade to the point that many would struggle to find food and shelter while recovering. The men were reportedly held in some of Israel's best-known detention facilities, including Ofer, Negev and Sde Teiman. Rights groups have long documented allegations of beatings and other abuse in these prisons, and the latest accounts add to those concerns.

The report also said the detainees had been labourers in Israeli-occupied Palestinian territory before 7 October 2023, underscoring how the war has affected civilians whose lives were already tied to cross-border work. What remains unclear is how many more Gazans will be released, and whether the allegations described by the freed men will lead to any new investigation or official response. The condition of those still held, and the legal basis for their detention, are also unresolved in the report.

For now, the transfer highlights both the scale of detention linked to the war and the continuing humanitarian consequences for families in Gaza.

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