Several Palestinians from Gaza held by Israel in a military detention facility have died in unclear circumstances, according to a report in Haaretz on Monday. Hundreds of Palestinians in the besieged enclave have reportedly been arrested by Israeli soldiers and taken to a detention facility near Beersheba, in the Negev desert in southern Israel.
Several of those taken have since died, with the circumstances of their deaths not being explained by Israeli authorities. Israel’s military told Haaretz those dead in the facility were “terrorists”, and the deaths were now under investigation.
Those detained are kept in fenced compounds with their eyes covered and hands cuffed for most of the day. Lights are switched on all night long in the prison compound and detainees sleep on thin mattresses on the floor, the report added.
Women and children have also been arrested by Israeli soldiers in Gaza, and are being held in a detention facility near Jerusalem, the report added. MEE reported last week that the Israeli army had arbitrarily detained dozens of women and girls from Gaza without disclosing their whereabouts or the charges they face.
According to a Haaretz report last week, only around 10 to 15 percent of Palestinians detained by Israel in Gaza in recent days are connected with Hamas.
