Over 600 Palestinian Children Detained: NGO Accuses Israel of Torture and Abuse During Custody

Original article: Más de 600 niños y niñas palestinas detenidos: ONG acusa torturas y vejaciones en custodia israelí

The Palestinian Prisoners’ Studies Center reported that Israeli security forces arrested over 600 Palestinian children in the occupied territories last year, subjecting them to «various forms of torture and mistreatment.»

Riyad al-Ashqar, the director of the NGO, raised serious concerns, stating that Israel deliberately and systematically targets children with the ultimate goal of «destroying their lives and future.»

In an interview with Shehab news agency, the researcher warned of the profound consequences of this aggression by the Zionist regime.

He condemned that Israel’s actions aim to negatively impact the psychological and physical well-being of these children and to create a weak and fearful generation that will hesitate to resist the occupation.

Furthermore, he asserted that to achieve this objective, «repressive agencies carry out arrests, harsh interrogations, and inhumane detention conditions,» as reported by Prensa Latina.

Al-Ashqar emphasized that Israeli authorities have made the arrest of Palestinian children a «primary objective.»

He provided historical context, noting that since the 1967 war, when Gaza and the West Bank were occupied, over 55,000 minors have been detained. He highlighted that this practice intensified following the recent surge of violence that began in October 2023.

Since then, he explained, there has been an increase in abusive measures and torture against Palestinian children, along with harsher sentences.

Detention of Injured Children Without Medical Assistance

The activist launched severe accusations against the Israeli Army and Police, including the arrest of «children under 10 years old or injured.» Regarding the latter, he questioned the procedures and noted that many were transported in military vehicles lacking medical equipment, interrogated in hospitals, or taken to prisons before recovering.

The NGO director also highlighted the educational impact of these detentions, stating that hundreds of Palestinian minors were deprived of education due to repeated arrests or lengthy detentions.

Al-Ashqar described a systematic process of mistreatment that begins at the moment of detention.

He recounted that torture starts immediately with the raiding of their homes at dawn before transporting them to interrogation centers that lack even the most basic public health standards. In such facilities, he explained, «they are subjected to all forms of mistreatment, abuse, deprivation, hunger, medical neglect, and beatings,» as reported by Prensa Latina.

The conditions of confinement were described as inhumane, as according to the activist, the prison administration holds minors in sections and rooms unfit for human habitation, where they lack minimum conditions, contributing to the spread of diseases and epidemics.

He revealed an alarming health situation, denouncing that «dozens contracted scabies due to a lack of hygiene supplies and water, prohibition from bathing, and overcrowding in cells.»

Moreover, he warned that their suffering worsens in winter due to a lack of heating, blankets, and adequate warm clothing.

Ongoing Violence in Gaza

The report about detained minors occurs amid persistent violence in the Gaza Strip. In the last 24 hours, reports indicate that Israeli forces committed a series of crimes against unarmed civilians in both the southern and northern parts of the enclave.

The spokesman for Civil Defense in Gaza, Mahmoud Bassal, detailed that «the attacks targeted tents and homes that served as shelters for the displaced.»

Bassal confirmed that these bombings «resulted in the martyrdom of seven citizens, including five children, the youngest being just five years old,» which he categorized as a «clear violation of the ceasefire,» reported.

The spokesman condemned that attacking civilians and shelters constitutes both a crime and a blatant violation of international humanitarian law, urging the international community to take legal and moral responsibility to provide urgent protection to the population of the Gaza Strip.

Meanwhile, the correspondent from Al Mayadeen reported that «one person died and others were injured in an Israeli attack on a tent in the Al-Attar area, west of Khan Younis.»

Previously, it had been reported that four other individuals had died during this day in a drone strike against another tent in the Mawasi area, also in the same city.

Over 71,000 Palestinians Killed by Israel

The Gaza Health Ministry communicated that, in the last 48 hours, hospitals received «four bodies—three of which were recovered—along with seven injured. However, it warned that victims remain trapped under the rubble and in the streets, as ambulances and civil defense teams cannot access areas affected by the continuous bombings of the Zionist regime.

According to their figures, since the ceasefire declared on October 11, the Ministry has recorded a total of 425 casualties, 1,206 injured, and 688 bodies recovered from the rubble.

Official statistics from the Ministry since the start of the offensive in October 2023 present an alarming picture: the total death toll in the Gaza Strip has reached 71,395, with 17,287 injured.

The combination of these figures with the reports on the treatment of detained minors paints a complex picture of a conflict that, according to human rights organizations, is carrying a devastating human and generational cost.