Israeli prison officers abuse Palestinian detainees due to be freed in Gaza deal

Israeli prison officials on Saturday were seen physically abusing Palestinian detainees set to be released in the upcoming prisoner exchange deal.

Footage shared on social media and Hebrew-language news outlets showed Israeli authorities humiliating Palestinian prisoners at the Ganot Prison in southern Israel's Negev region, ahead of their release.

The Palestinian prisoners were seen forced to walk in single file with their heads and upper bodies bowed down, while blindfolded and with their hands tied behind their backs, as Israeli soldiers and police surrounded them.

The Palestinian Prisoners' Information Office, which also published the video, said the incident "documents a painful scene showing the occupation's brutal abuse of prisoners scheduled for release as part of the exchange deal".

Amjad al-Najjar, the Palestinian Prisoners' Club director, said in a Facebook post that the video indicates that the prisoners are serving life sentences and are being transferred to another jail facility, in preparation for their deportation to Gaza.

Israeli prison officers have routinely abused Palestinian detainees from both the Gaza Strip and the West Bank over the decades, with incidents of torture, rape and abuse being reported during Israel's two-year-long war on the Palestinian enclave.

Israeli authorities’ abuse and deliberate negligence have led to the deaths of at least 78 Palestinian prisoners since October 2023, when Israel began its military campaign in Gaza.

On Friday, the Israeli justice ministry published the names of 250 prisoners serving life sentences set to be freed, while another 1,700 Palestinians detained from Gaza will also be released.

The detainees’ release will take place during the first phase of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza ceasefire plan. The list of prisoners’ names omitted the likes of Marwan Barghouti and Ahmed Saadat, two of the most high-profile Palestinian prisoners Israel is refusing to release.

According to the Prisoners' Information Office, the Israeli army raided the family home of prisoner Murad Idais, who is slated to be freed, during an incursion on the Beit Amra area south of Hebron, in the southern West Bank.

The homes of several prisoners across the occupied territory were raided to warn them against any celebrations of their relatives' release, eyewitnesses told the Turkish Anadolu agency. These Israeli raids also included the homes of prisoners Khalil Abu Aram and Taleb Makhamreh from Yatta, also near Hebron.