Women soldiers raped me: Ibrahim Salem on eight-months detention by Israeli army | WATCH

New Delhi: After enduring eight months in Israeli detention, Ibrahim Salem has been released and is now in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza. His time in the notorious Sde Teiman detention camp was marked by horrific abuses, including rape, electrocution, and beatings. The leaked photo of Salem, blindfolded and standing by a barbed wire fence, is just a glimpse into the atrocities faced by many Palestinian prisoners.

How was Salem abducted?

Salem’s ordeal began in December 2023 when Israeli forces raided the Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza, where he was beside his critically injured children. Salem’s children had been severely wounded in an Israeli strike that also claimed the lives of his siblings and several of their children. Despite his pleas and the hospital reports, Israeli soldiers forcibly removed him from the ICU and detained him.

Left naked in rain for two days 

Salem, along with other men, was stripped, beaten, and verbally abused by soldiers. They were subjected to degrading insults and forced to repeat humiliating statements. Eventually, Salem was taken to a detention center in the Negev desert, where detainees were left in the rain for two nights, tied up and nearly naked, before being given minimal clothing and food.

Sde Teiman: The nightmare camp

Transferred to the Sde Teiman military base, which doubles as a detention camp, Salem described it as the worst part of his captivity. For 52 days, he faced regular punishments and constant insults aimed at breaking him mentally. Salem revealed that sexual assaults were rampant, with many prisoners suffering rectal injuries from rape, often by female soldiers. The trauma was so severe that prisoners would falsely claim their injuries were due to hemorrhoids.

Brutality in Israeli custody

Salem’s testimony highlights the brutal treatment of Palestinian detainees in Israeli custody. His experiences shed light on the need for international attention and intervention to prevent further human rights abuses in detention camps like Sde Teiman.