Israeli forces have subjected Palestinians detained in various Israeli prisons to widespread torture. This shocking information has emerged from an investigation by the Qatar-based news outlet Al Jazeera.
Muhammad al-Bakri is one such victim of this torture in Israeli custody. He remains unable to forget the day he was forcibly raped—April 10, 2024, during the Eid al-Fitr holidays at the end of Ramadan.
Al-Bakri recounted that he had been arrested by Israeli soldiers a month prior to the incident. Since then, the Gaza government official had been subjected to beatings, torture, and having his hands and feet bound.
Al-Bakri stated that he was held alongside seven other prisoners. They were all stripped naked, blindfolded, and handcuffed. He added, “After our clothes were removed, we were raped. We were screaming ‘Allah,’ but they just laughed and filmed us.”
The Gaza official noted that Israeli guards also used dogs during the sexual abuse of prisoners. He said the dogs attacked them at the officers’ command.
The report states that Al-Bakri is among those who detailed their experiences of captivity for Al Jazeera’s investigative documentary, Bodies of Evidence: Israel’s Darkest Weapon.
This documentary investigates allegations of rape and sexual abuse committed by the Israeli army against Palestinians.
The report highlights that, based on observations by International Criminal Court (ICC) judges, various UN inquiries, and assessments by Francesca Albanese—the UN Special Rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories—there are serious allegations that sexual violence and abuse by Israeli forces against Palestinian prisoners have become widespread and systematic. Various organizations, including the Palestinian Center for Human Rights and Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor, have documented testimonies from Palestinian detainees alleging that Israeli soldiers committed acts of violence—such as sexual abuse and rape—using dogs.
Allegations of sexual abuse against Palestinians in Israeli prisons are not new; they date back decades. However, following the attack by the Palestinian armed resistance group Hamas in October 2023, and the subsequent genocidal war launched by Israel in Gaza, the use of rape as a weapon of war has escalated.
A United Nations report released in March 2025 states that evidence has been found regarding the “systematic” use of sexual violence, reproductive violence, and other forms of gender-based violence by Israel since October 7, 2023.
