Falcon powers – A recent investigation by CNN has uncovered violations and torture of Palestinian detainees by Israeli soldiers at a secret detention center in the Negev desert.
The investigation reveals that what was once a military base in the Israeli Negev desert has been converted into a detention center. An Israeli working at the facility secretly captured two photos that he claims still haunt him.
The images depict rows of men wearing gray tracksuits sitting on thin paper mats, surrounded by barbed wire fences. All individuals appear blindfolded, their heads weighed down under the glare of bright lights.
The Israeli source, who was present at the facility, described a foul stench filling the air, and the room filled with the murmurs of men forbidden from speaking to each other. The detainees whispered to themselves.
“We were told they were not allowed to move. They had to sit up straight. They were not allowed to speak. They couldn’t even steal a quick glance under their blindfolds,” the source added.
The source further revealed that the guards received instructions to “scream” in Arabic, silencing the detainees, and were asked to “identify troublemakers and punish them.”
The report also paints a picture of a facility where doctors sometimes amputate prisoners’ limbs due to injuries caused by continuous handcuffing, and where unqualified medical personnel perform procedures, earning it a reputation as a “training ground” for trainee doctors. The air is filled with the stench of neglected wounds left to fester.
CNN interviewed three Israeli investigators who worked at the Sedot Tiaman desert camp, where Palestinians detained during the Israeli invasion of Gaza are held. They all spoke openly, exposing themselves to potential legal repercussions and retaliatory actions from groups supporting Israel’s hardline policies in Gaza.
According to their accounts, the facility, located about 18 miles from the Gaza border, is divided into two sections: containers where around 70 Palestinian detainees from Gaza are held under severe physical restraints, and a field hospital where wounded detainees are tethered to their beds, wearing diapers and being fed through plastic straws.
One of the investigators, who worked as a paramedic at the field hospital in the facility, said, “They stripped them of anything resembling humanity.”
Another investigator, discussing the violations, stated, “The beatings were not for gathering intelligence. They were done out of revenge, as punishment for what they did on October 7th and as punishment for their behavior in the camp.”
In response to CNN’s request for comment on all the allegations made in this report, the Israeli army stated, “The Israel Defense Forces ensures appropriate behavior towards detained individuals, and any allegation of misconduct by soldiers is examined and dealt with accordingly. In appropriate cases, investigations are opened by the Military Police when there is suspicion of misconduct that justifies such action.”
The Israeli army did not directly deny accounts of individuals being stripped of their clothes or being held in diapers.
