As Hamas fighters swarmed into Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, the power suddenly went out in a remote prison in the Negev Desert.
When the lights briefly came back on a few hours later, a new era of hard-line policies had begun. In the wake of Hamas’s attack—which left some 1,200 in Israel dead and around 250 as hostages—the thousands of Palestinians held at Lavi prison in the Negev and other prisons across Israel now faced harsher conditions. Thousands more joined them, swept up in raids amid the ensuing war.
Auditors from Israel’s Ministry of Justice and United Nations agencies later found that detainees were subjected to beatings, particularly during transfers and searches, and starvation. Autopsies of some Palestinians who died in custody showed signs of physical assault, medical neglect and malnutrition. Doctors and rights groups described instances of sexual violence.
In addition to those reports, The Wall Street Journal interviewed a dozen Palestinians released from Israeli prisons since 2024, mostly as part of ceasefire agreements with Hamas, a U.S.-designated terrorist organization. All said they experienced physical abuse, such as being bound in stress positions and beaten, and severe hunger. Two men said they were sexually assaulted in front of other prisoners.
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