Israeli forces on Wednesday continued to carry out large-scale demolitions and a detained several people in the occupied West Bank, while Palestinian prisoners released as part of the Gaza truce deal recalled the torture they faced in cells.
Israeli forces also killed a man on Wednesday in the town of Al-Ram, located north of occupied Jerusalem.
The Palestinian Red Crescent said its crews received his body at the Qalandiya checkpoint and transported it to the Palestine Medical Complex.
The man, who has not yet been identified by name, was 57 years old and died after being struck on the head by Israeli forces, the official Palestinian Wafa news agency reported.
The entrance to the al-Mughayyir village in the West Bank has been closed, with Israeli soldiers deployed around nearby, leaving Palestinians unable to enter or exit.
Four people were also detained in Bethlehem, the news agency added, in a crackdown on Palestinian civilians.
Those arrested have been named as: Mustafa Musa Nawawra, Muhammad Raed Zawahra, Raed Abdul Karim al-Madbouh, and Zakaria Jamal Awida.
In the Khallet al-Daba area, located in the heart of Masafer Yatta, Israeli bulldozers and demolition vehicles tore down structures, forcing families out of their homes and livestock into the open roads.
Israel has long been trying to empty Masafer Yatta of Palestinians, in order to turn it into a military training zone.
Locals in Khallet al-Daba say they are living in fear, telling reporters that children often suffer from nightmares due to ongoing Israeli raids.
Freed detainees recount torture
The latest developments come as Palestinians freed from Israeli detention as part of the truce deal in Gaza recount the torture they faced behind bars.
Naseem al-Radee, a 33-year-old from Gaza who was arrested in December 2023, told reporters he was beaten and starved. He is one of many who were never charged with a crime, a practice that rights groups have frequently condemned and described as a policy of systematic abuse.
"The conditions in the prison were extremely harsh, from having our hands and feet bound to being subjected to the cruelest forms of torture," he told The Guardian, about his time in the Nafha Prison, located in the Negev desert.
One of the Palestinians released was an autistic 14-year-old, Omar Yahya al-Qarinawi, who was detained from Gaza in October and has been held with no charges. Various reports confirm he was shot near an aid site in Gaza.
Palestinian medics have also stated that most of the detainees released on Monday were markedly thinner and in poor physical health, with many showing signs of torture, including fractures, wounds and bruises.
Most of those released also had marks on their wrists from being shackled, while some recounted being attacked by dogs while behind bars.
Since the start of Israel’s war on Gaza, there has been an uptick in arrests and raids in the occupied West Bank.
Palestinian NGOs and the Palestinian Prisoners Society state that over 18,000 Palestinians, including 1,450 children, have been arrested in the West Bank since October 2023.