The Post could not independently verify Hammouda’s account, but it is consistent with those of six other recently released detainees interviewed for this story, as well as testimonies collected by human rights groups and other media reports.
Hundreds of Palestinians — both combatants and civilians — have been detained by Israeli forces in Gaza and incarcerated without charge inside Israel under a secretive legal framework that rights groups say has never been applied at this scale. Advocates say the system is intentionally opaque and open to abuse, allowing detainees to effectively disappear into a legal gray zone.
Hammouda has no official record of his detention. All he has is a deposit slip, written in Hebrew, which he said his jailers gave to him when they returned his Palestinian identification card. The undated document, shared with The Post, lists his name, ID number and birth date. It does not say where it was issued, or by whom.
The Israel Defense Forces did not respond to specific questions about the arrest or detention of the Gazans interviewed for this story but provided a general statement saying: “During combat in the
Gaza Strip, suspects of terrorist activities were arrested.
The relevant suspects are brought to Israeli territory for further investigation.” The military went on to say that suspects not involved in terrorist activity are sent back to Gaza and those who remain in detention are treated in accordance with Israeli law.
sked about the alleged shooting of Hammouda’s grandfather, the IDF told The Post that “questions of this kind will be looked into at a later stage.”
The former prisoners told The Post they were grilled in interrogations: Where were you on Oct. 7? Do you work with Hamas? Who else helps Hamas? Where are the tunnels? Where are the fighters?
Muhammad Abu Zour, 24, said he was held for 20 days inside Israel, where soldiers withheld food as punishment.
“They always insist on accusing us of belonging to Hamas,” he said. When he denied it, he said, soldiers kicked and hit him.
Abu Zour said his interrogators made him sign a Hebrew document he didn’t understand. They offered him money if he spied for Israel. He refused.