TNA Arabic journalist Diaa al-Kahlout 'tortured in Israeli prison'

A journalist in Gaza for The New Arab's Arabic-language sister site is being tortured in Israeli detention, a recently released Palestinian detainee has said.

Diaa Al-Kahlout, Gaza bureau chief for Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, was arrested at gunpoint, beaten, and stripped by Israeli forces in the northern Gaza town of Beit Lahia on 7 December.

A recently released young detainee told Al-Araby Al-Jadeed that he had seen Kahlout being brutally tortured in Israeli detention, including being forced to kneel for hours at a time or made to sit shackled to a chair for prolonged periods.

Kahlout and a group of other civilians were seen stripped to their underwear on a northern Gaza street in humiliating conditions by Israeli forces.

Like other Palestinian detainees, Kahlout is being brutally interrogated, the freed detainee said, in his case for his media work.

Almost a month after Kahlout was detained, Israel has not commented on the journalist's welfare or whereabouts. Detainees released by Israel have said Kahlout is being held at an Israeli prison in Beersheba, and his health is deteriorating.

Press freedom groups - including the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) and Reporters Without Borders (RSF) - have urged Israel to immediately release Kahlout, while the UN said it was "very concerned" about his condition.

Journalists in Gaza have urged international organisations to continue to press for Kahlout's release.

"Diaa insisted on staying in the north to continue his work. He is currently detained and facing torture in prison, and we do not know his fate," Hisham Zaqout, an Al Jazeera correspondent in Gaza said.

"He must be released immediately, and the nature of his detention must be revealed, while we call on international institutions to protect Palestinian journalists in Gaza in particular."

Israel appears to be deliberately targeting journalists in Gaza, press freedom groups have said. More than 100 journalists have been killed in Gaza since 7 October, with little to no response from Israel's allies.

Basel Khalaf, Al-Araby TV's correspondent in Gaza, told Al-Araby Al-Jadeed that the number of Palestinians killed and detained would continue to rise due to Israel's impunity with detaining journalists such as Diaa and killing other media wore - the ears and eyes for Palestinians.

Israa Al-Buhaisi, Gaza correspondent for the Al-Alam television channel told Al-Araby Al-Jadeed: "Our colleague Diaa was doing his job: conveying the truth.

"Diaa’s work, and the work of all journalists, is guaranteed and protected by all international conventions. So Diaa and everything done to him in detention is the entire world's responsibility."

After Kahlout's arrest, Israeli forces also burned down his home and the houses of his two brothers.

The house that the family later took refuge in was then bombed, killing Kahlout's father-in-law, as well as injuring his wife and son.