After releases, Palestinian prisoners from Gaza describe Israeli authorities’ brutal treatment

Over 300 Palestinians, many of whom were arrested by Israel during its invasion of Gaza, were released back to the enclave on Saturday as part of the prisoner exchange under the ongoing ceasefire, despite tensions arising between signatories last week. Hamas also handed three Israeli prisoners to the International Committee of the Red Cross in Khan Younis.

Several of the released prisoners described to Mada Masr the brutal treatment they were subjected to during their time in Israeli detention centers. After entering Gaza on Saturday, the released detainees were received by medics at the European Gaza Hospital, where they immediately discarded the uniforms they had been forced to wear by Israeli authorities. Footage circulated online of the uniforms burning in a heap on the ground.

The uniforms bore the phrase “We will not forget, we will not forgive” in Arabic alongside the Star of David, as shown in images of the detainees published by the Israeli Prison Service.

The move appeared to be a direct response to symbolic gestures Hamas conducted in previous prisoner exchanges during the ongoing ceasefire.

Hamas condemned the display in a Saturday statement, describing the writing on the prisoners’ clothing as “racist slogans” and denouncing what it described as harsh and violent treatment in blatant violation of international laws and humanitarian norms.

The group contrasted this with what it described as its own adherence to ethical principles in handling Israeli captives.

Footage from Saturday showed the uniforms worn by the freed prisoners spread across the hospital corridor.

The detainees also displayed plastic wristbands that Israeli prison authorities had forced them to wear, inscribed with the slogan, “The eternal people do not forget; I chase my enemies and capture them.”

Among the released detainees was Adel al-Ghafry, who lost a leg due to torture. Arrested from the Shifa Medical Complex around a year ago, Ghafry endured severe beatings that caused extensive bleeding, ultimately leading to the amputation of his leg.

Before performing the amputation at Soroka Medical Center in Israel, Ghafry told Mada Masr, the medical team told him, “We don’t care if you die,” and forced him to sign a waiver absolving them of responsibility for any complications.

The amputation was carried out in three stages, and Ghafry underwent 26 surgeries in total. He said he felt like a test subject rather than a patient receiving treatment.

Ghafry was then transferred to an Israeli prison, where he said he continued to endure torture, including being burned in various parts of his body.

“Each day was worse than the one before,” Jamil Abu Qumsan, another freed detainee who had been captured by Israeli forces inside Jabalia camp said, describing the 105 days he was held in Israeli prisoners. Abu Qumsan was released with fractures in his ribcage and lower spine due to torture, leaving him unable to sit, he told Mada Masr.

“Beatings, starvation, daily humiliation, all forms of torture, freezing cold and sleep deprivation” — this is how Ghazi Alyan described the year and four months he spent in Israeli detention after being arrested from the school where he had been displaced in Gaza City, in statements to Mada Masr.

Those released back to Gaza were among 369 Palestinians Israel was due to release on Saturday, including 36 who had been sentenced to life in prison, as part of the sixth round of the ongoing prisoner exchange.

Palestinian resistance factions handed over the sixth group of Israeli prisoners to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) on Saturday, which then transferred them to the Israeli military.

Hamas also said that Saturday’s release of the sixth group reaffirmed that negotiations and adherence to the ceasefire agreement remain the only viable path for further prisoner releases.

The exchange nearly collapsed last week, threatening the ceasefire that has been in place since January 19. Hamas announced it was postponing scheduled releases indefinitely, citing repeated Israeli violations of the ceasefire terms, including opening fire at civilians and failure to allow the delivery of sufficient quantities of aid, equipment and material to provide temporary housing to hundreds of thousands of internally displaced Palestinians.

In response, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned that the ceasefire agreement would be called off if Hamas failed to release all remaining Israeli prisoners on Saturday, while United States President Donald Trump threatened to let “all hell break out” if all captives were not released at once, rather than in groups as outlined in the ceasefire deal.

Two days later, Hamas stated it had received assurances from mediators that Israel would comply with the terms of the agreement.

Since Wednesday, dozens of trucks carrying heavy equipment and mobile homes have lined up at the Rafah border crossing as part of the ceasefire’s humanitarian protocol. However, their entry into Gaza has yet to materialize.

On Friday, Gaza’s Government Media Office head Salama Maarouf confirmed that no caravans, machinery, or heavy equipment had been allowed in from the Egyptian side of the Rafah crossing so far. He expressed hope that the process would move forward in the coming hours, citing reassurances from relevant parties.

The Palestinian resistance groups conducted the handover in the Satr al-Sharqi area of Khan Younis in southern Gaza, where a platform was constructed amid the rubble of destroyed homes. There, final procedures for releasing the three Israeli prisoners were carried out in a notably more organized setting than previous exchanges.

Hamas announced the identities of the three Israeli prisoners on Friday as Argentinian-Israeli Iair Horn, American-Israeli Sagui Dekel Chen, and Russian-Israeli Alexander Troufanov. Two had been held by the Qassam Brigades, Hamas’ military wing, while the third was detained by the Quds Brigades, the military wing of Islamic Jihad.

An hourglass stood on the table at the handover platform, fixed atop a block featuring an image of a captive held by the resistance alongside a picture of his mother, a leading figure in the campaign that pushed for a prisoner exchange deal in Israel. The block bore the writing: “Time is running out.”

The three released prisoners were also given an embroidered map of the entirety of Palestine to hold.

Behind the platform, a large banner featured an image of the late Hamas leader in Gaza and head of its political bureau, Yahya Sinwar, gazing at the Aqsa Mosque. The banner read, “No migration except to Jerusalem,” a pointed message directed at Trump amid his push for the forced displacement of Gaza’s population.

Following medical check-ups at the European Hospital, the released Palestinians were able to return to their friends and families, with some travelling to northern Gaza on Saturday night.