Thousands of civilians in Gaza have been captivated by the Israel Military during the last two and a half years, and they are being subject to inhuman torture and brutalities defying the International Law for Wartime captivity. The law has given the Civilians in occupied territories or interned are protected under the Fourth Geneva Convention, prohibiting the taking of hostages, torture, and collective penalties.
The most shocking violation of the law came on March 30, 2026, when the Israeli Knesset passed a new law mandating the death penalty for Palestinians convicted of ‘deadly terror attacks’. The legislation has been widely condemned by international organizations as discriminatory and a potential war crime.
International law for wartime captivity, primarily governed by the Third Geneva Convention in 1949 for Prisoners of War (POWs) and the Fourth Geneva Convention in same year for civilians, mandates humane treatment, protection against violence, torture, and reprisals. POWs must be repatriated after hostilities end, with illegal detention being a war crime.
Prisoners must be protected against insults and public curiosity. They are not to be forced to disclose information beyond their name, rank, date of birth, and serial number. Captors are responsible for housing, food, clothing, and medical care for prisoners.
But the reality shows different reversing of all the laws and norms, Israel is carrying out a “systematic state policy” of sexual abuse and torture of Palestinian prisoners held in Gaza. It was revealed that the brutality with the approval and support of Israel’s highest political, military and judicial authorities include rape using trained military dogs and various objects.
A 42-year-old female prisoner from northern Gaza has described her ordeal, saying she was tied completely naked to a metal table and repeatedly raped by masked soldiers for two days at the notorious SD Teiman detention center.
Another former prisoner was sexually assaulted and severely beaten by dogs trained by the soldiers, which he found extremely humiliating. The soldiers recorded videos of the torture and used them to blackmail him during interrogations.
These crimes were not isolated incidents, but a specific form of planned cruelty designed to destroy the dignity and physical integrity of prisoners. The incidents in which prisoners were brutally tortured are tantamount to war crimes.
More horrifying is that Israeli medical personnel and judicial institutions are protecting the perpetrators. Doctors are covering up signs of torture, and the judiciary is dismissing charges against perpetrators.
The Israeli military dropped charges against five soldiers accused of gang-raping despite CCTV footage showing torture. These actions are part of a broader goal to destroy, in part or in whole, the Palestinian population in the Gaza Strip, in violation of the international convention against genocide.
A UN investigation committee has previously accused Israel of using sexual violence as a “tool of war” to suppress and destroy the Palestinian people. According to the report, this trauma is not limited to the victims but has long-term negative effects on their families and the entire fabric of conservative Palestinian society.
The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author
The writer is a journalist and columnist
