"Welcome to Hell": Palestinian detainees in Israeli prisons

A network of camps

In August 2024 the Israeli rights group B'Tselem published "Welcome to Hell", based on the testimonies of 55 Palestinians held since October 2023, most without charge or trial. They described beatings, sexual violence, starvation, stress positions and denial of medical care. B'Tselem concluded that Israel's prisons had become a network of torture camps.

Deaths in custody

The report listed 60 Palestinians who had died in Israeli custody since the start of the war: 48 from Gaza held in army facilities, and 12 in Israel Prison Service custody. Among those who died was Dr Adnan al-Bursh, head of orthopaedics at al-Shifa Hospital, who died in Ofer prison in April 2024.

Sde Teiman

The army camp at Sde Teiman in the Negev became a symbol of the abuse. In July 2024, soldiers were detained over the severe assault of a Palestinian detainee there. B'Tselem's director called the camp "just the tip of the iceberg".

A doctor held without charge

On 27 December 2024, Israeli forces raided Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza and detained its director, the paediatrician Dr Hussam Abu Safiya. Amnesty International reports that he has been held without charge or trial under repeatedly renewed orders, and has called for his release.

Watch NAZA

NAZA is Israeli military slang for collateral damage: the number of civilians an officer is allowed to kill in a strike. In this documentary, 24 Israeli intelligence officers and soldiers, many from the army's most prestigious units, explain how that number was set, approved and exceeded in Gaza. What they describe is not a tragic accident of war but a system: targets tracked to their family homes, families watched for days, strikes approved knowing children were inside.

In cinemas now, and free worldwide on theguardian.com after the cinema run.