“Sde Teiman is only the tip of the iceberg”: Israeli detention centers turned into a network of torture camps for Palestinians

5 August 2024

In a new report based on dozens of testimonies, B’Tselem reveals that since 7 October, Israel has instated a systemic policy of abusing and torturing thousands of Palestinians in its custody.
In “Welcome to Hell”, a new report issued today, 5 August 2024, Israeli human rights organization B’Tselem showcases the testimonies of 55 Palestinians released from Israeli prisons and detention facilities in recent months, almost all without charges: 30 from the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, 21 from the Gaza Strip, and four citizens of Israel.

The testimonies reveal that Palestinians currently in Israeli prisons are being subjected to harsh arbitrary violence on a frequent basis, sexual assault, humiliation and degradation, deliberate starvation, forced lack of hygiene, sleep deprivation, restriction and punishment of religious worship, confiscation of all group and personal belongings, and denial of adequate medical care. This is the outcome of the speedy conversion of more than a dozen Israeli prison facilities, military and civilian, into camps dedicated to abusing inmates since the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023.

B’Tselem Executive Director Yuli Novak: “The Sde Teiman detention camp is just the tip of the iceberg. As we speak, thousands of Palestinians are being held in inhuman conditions and subjected to relentless abuse. Some do not know why they were arrested; many will be released without trial. This is the definition of a torture camp: a place that once you enter – no matter who you are or why you were arrested – you will be subjected to severe, deliberate, relentless pain and suffering.”

“The Israeli government has cynically exploited our collective trauma from the horrors of 7 October to translate Minister of National Security Itamar Ben Gvir’s racist, violent agenda into action. This government has driven us to an all-time moral low, proving again its utter disregard for human lives – of the Israeli hostages in Gaza, of Israelis and Palestinians living through ongoing war, and of the Palestinians held in torture camps.”

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Torture and Abuse

New report: Living Hell: Sexual violence, starvation and systematic abuse – at least 84 Palestinian prisoners have died in Israeli torture camps

Today (Tuesday), B’Tselem released new figures and testimonies revealing the extent of violence employed against Palestinians in Israeli prisons, which function as a network of torture camps: systematic abuse, including physical and psychological violence, inhuman conditions, deliberate starvation and denial of medical treatment, resulting in many deaths. Some released prisoners recounted undergoing or witnessing sexual violence.B’Tselem Executive Director Yuli Novak: “The Israeli regime has turned its prisons into a network of torture camps for Palestinians, as part of a coordinated onslaught on Palestinian society intended to destroy their existence as a collective. The genocide in Gaza and the ethnic cleansing in the West Bank are the most blatant manifestations of this policy. Despite mounting evidence and numerous reports on Israel's torture camps, the international community continues to grant this regime full immunity – effectively legitimizing the continued torture, oppression and ethnic cleansing of Palestinians and abandoning the victims.”The new report lists 84 Palestinians (including one minor) who died in Israeli torture camps since October 2023, detailing each prisoner’s name, place of residence (50 from the Gaza Strip, 31 from the West Bank and 3 citizens of Israel) and the facility in which they died. As of January 2025, Israel is still holding 80 of the bodies and refusing to return them to their families. There are indications that the number of Palestinians who died in Israeli torture camps is higher. However, the report notes only those for whom B’Tselem was able to verify the information.The report shows that the policy of abuse is declared, deliberate, and is coming from the very top. National Minister of Security Itamar Ben Gvir, who is in charge of the Israel Prison Service, brags in TV puff pieces and on social media about the inhuman treatment of Palestinians in these facilities. He is not alone. The entire Israeli system has rallied to shield the people designing and implementing this policy from any accountability.The report is based on the extensive analysis provided in our August 2024 report “Welcome to Hell”, on updated figures, and on the testimonies of 21 Palestinians released from Israeli prison facilities in recent months. It also draws on the work of Israeli and international human rights organizations that monitor these facilities.In September 2025, about 10,900 Palestinians were being held in Israel’s torture camps, in appalling conditions and under a regime of extreme physical and psychological abuse. As of January 2026, after the Israel-Hamas deal that included the release of some prisoners was completed, about 9,200 Palestinians remain in Israeli prisons.B’Tselem stresses that the incarceration project in which more than 800,000 Palestinians have been held in Israeli prisons over the years, many without trial, is a key tool Israel uses to fragment and oppress Palestinian society.

20 January 2026

Detainees & Prisoners

Living Hell

“Living Hell” follows on B’Tselem’s August 2024 report “Welcome to Hell.” Building on the extensive research and analysis carried out for the previous report, it provides updated figures and new testimonies from 21 Palestinians released from Israeli prisons in recent months, and draws on data from other Israeli and international human rights organizations. The updated information indicates that Israeli prisons continue to function as a network of torture camps for Palestinians, with the systematic abuse even more extensive than before. This includes physical and psychological abuse, inhuman conditions, deliberate starvation and denial of medical care, all of which has led to numerous deaths. Some witnesses also described undergoing or witnessing sexual violence and abuse. The transformation of prisons into a network of torture camps is part of the Israeli regime’s coordinated onslaught on Palestinian society, aimed at dismantling the Palestinian collective.

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Torture and Abuse

Welcome to Hell

“Welcome to Hell” is a report on the abuse and inhuman treatment of Palestinians held in Israeli custody since 7 October 2023. B’Tselem collected testimonies from 55 Palestinians held during that time and released, almost all with no charges. Their testimonies reveal the outcomes of the rushed transformation of more than a dozen Israeli prison facilities, military and civilian, into a network of camps dedicated to the abuse of inmates as a matter of policy. Facilities in which every inmate is deliberately subjected to harsh, relentless pain and suffering operate as de-facto torture camps.

1 August 2024