What Israeli rape video leak reveals about rampant torture of detained Palestinians

Warning: graphic and disturbing descriptions of rape and torture

A scandal surrounding the leak of a video that shows a group of Israeli soldiers raping a Palestinian detainee at Sde Teiman has sparked a major crisis in Israel, as rights campaigners have tried to highlight the leak raises more serious concerns about widespread torture in Israeli jails.

Last week, Major General Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi revealed she was behind the publication of a video over a year ago which showed Israeli soldiers inserting a sharp object into the anus of a Palestinian detainee, resulting in serious injuries.

In February, military prosecutors filed an indictment against five reserve soldiers for their abuse of the detainee. When the reservists were detained for their actions in July 2024, Israeli far-right politicians and activists broke into the prison facility to protest their arrests, something Palestinians say was effectively a call for the continued torture and sexual assault of detainees.

"For 15 minutes, the accused kicked the detainee, stomped on him, stood on his body, hit him and pushed him all over his body, including with clubs, dragged his body along the ground, and used a taser gun on him, including on his head," the indictment on the case read.

Medical information published by Haaretz revealed that the victim came away from the assault and rape with a ruptured bowel, severe anal and lung injuries, and broken ribs, needing surgery after.

Tomer-Yerushalmi has since resigned, claiming that the Palestinian detainees who were tortured were "terrorists and terror operatives of the worst kind" but adding that there are "actions which must never be taken even against the vilest of detainees".

Israeli media reported that she has been charged with a breach of loyalty, breach of trust, dereliction of duty, and disrupting investigative operations.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court for war crimes, slammed the leak of the video as an attack on his country's image, adding that it is "perhaps the most severe public relations attack that the state of Israel has experienced since its establishment".

He did not comment on the content of the video.

Those involved in the rape were charged with "aggravated abuse" and "causing aggravated injury", with human rights activists saying the charges against them are too lenient.

The case has raised serious fears for Palestinians in detention, particularly as Israeli politicians have praised the soldiers involved in the abuse, and urged for the case against them to be dropped.

Israel’s Heritage Minister Amichai Eliyahu stormed the Sde Teiman prison after the soldiers involved in the torture were arrested, while extremist Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said the soldiers should be treated like "heroes, not villains".

On social media, people pointed out that the leaked video was a rare glimpse into much greater abuses against Palestinian detainees, which are believed to be rampant behind the closed doors of Israeli detention facilities.

"Israel’s leadership prioritises damage control over accountability and justice. There are numerous reports of mass rapes by ‘Israeli’ occupation soldiers against Palestinians. but it’s rare when a video is leaked of it," one person wrote on X.

"The legal and political storm in Israel about the leaked video of Israeli soldiers raping a Palestinian detainee from Gaza is not about the rape. It’s about Israel’s image. Justice for the victim is not even part of the debate," Nour Odeh, a media commentator, said.

Last month, it was revealed that Israel returned 135 mutilated bodies of Palestinians to Gaza, after they were held at the Sde Teiman detention facility.

Doctors also said official examinations clearly show that torture and summary executions take place against Palestinians in Israeli jails.

Many of the bodies returned to Gaza bore marks of hanging around the neck and scars around the wrists.

At least 75 Palestinian detainees have died in Israeli jails since the start of the war on Gaza, the United Nations says.