Rafa:

Gazans released from Israeli detention on Thursday showed off injuries at a hospital in Rafah and told AFP they had been mistreated by jailers.

Israeli soldiers rounded up dozens of Gazans during a months-long ground offensive in the area, detaining them without charge and then releasing some.

Asked about the accusations, the Israeli military told AFP it had detained “individuals suspected of involvement in terrorist activities” and said they were being treated “in accordance with international law”.

Khaled al-Nabrisse, a resident of the southern Khan Younis district, was among those released Thursday.

Wearing a neck brace, he claimed in comments to AFP that Palestinians were subjected to “merciless torture”.

“For the first 72 hours, we were not allowed to drink, eat or go to the toilet, and for those seven days we were all handcuffed and blindfolded,” the 48-year-old said.

Gaza crossing authorities said 114 detainees, including four women, were sent to Israel’s Kerem Shalom crossing on Thursday. “The situation was very difficult and we were subjected to unprecedented torture,” including the use of dogs to threaten them, Nablis said.

The health ministry in the Hamas-controlled area said its members include Mohammed al-Ran, the director of surgery at the Indonesian hospital in northern Gaza.

A Health Ministry statement said Lan was taken away by soldiers who entered the hospital two months ago.

At the Rafa Najar hospital near the Egyptian border, AFP reporters saw many released Gazans with bandages on their wrists and feet.

Abu Khamis, from the central Brej refugee camp, told AFP what he said was “torture, beatings and humiliation” he suffered in detention.

“As you can see, these (wounds) occurred in prison. My hand was injured and needed treatment,” the 50-year-old said with a blanket draped over his shoulders.

Nearby, a man lay on the bed of a cart, struggling to raise his head, a black zipper tied around his wrist.

Similar to previous Gazans released from Israeli detention, they had wounds on their wrists and one man had wounds on his head.

The U.N. human rights representative in the Palestinian territories spoke to reporters last month about the “horrendous” conditions faced by Gaza detainees.

Ajith Sunghay said that since the war broke out on October 7, “thousands” of Gazans have been detained by Israeli forces and held in unknown locations.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)