In the days before the release of Israeli and Palestinian female detainees as part of a prisoner exchange deal between Israel and Hamas, their treatment at detention centers became a key message.
The condition of Palestinian detainees shocked their families, with reports of mistreatment and forced hunger and thirst, especially just before their release.
Israel appeared to send a message of power to the Palestinians, showing control over their fate. At the same time, it was clear that Israel was frustrated with the deal, which it had reluctantly agreed to under pressure from US President-elect Donald Trump.
A week before the ceasefire deal in Gaza began, Israel’s prison service cut off female detainees from the outside world, leaving them without news, according to released prisoner Yasmin Abu Surour, 27, who spoke from her home in the Dheisha Palestinian refugee camp near Bethlehem.
Abu Surour, who had been arrested multiple times, including on December 26, 2023, when she was placed in administrative detention, described how Israeli authorities kept the detainees in the dark.
“For a week, we had no news. Even on Sunday morning, we weren't sure it was our day of freedom,” she said. Inside the prisons, conditions were “extremely tough,” with detainees facing hunger, abuse, and medical neglect.
Amal Shujaia, 22, a university student from Deir Jarir near Ramallah, who had been detained for seven months, shared similar experiences.
“We faced daily abuse, confiscation of belongings, freezing cold, and shortages of food and medicine. We also experienced violations of privacy, like forced strip searches. It was not just hard, it was intentionally cruel and degrading,” she said.
The freed Palestinian prisoners said they were not told they would be part of the exchange deal until hours before their release on Sunday.
Under the first phase of the ceasefire agreement brokered by Qatar, Egypt, and the US, Israel released 96 Palestinian prisoners in exchange for three Israeli women held by Hamas.
Israel currently holds over 10,400 Palestinian prisoners, not including 1,500 from Gaza under direct military custody. The second release will take place on Saturday, with weekly releases continuing for 42 days.
