'Graveyards for the living’: Freed Palestinian prisoner exposes inhumane conditions in Israeli jails

A newly freed Palestinian prisoner described Israeli jails as “graveyards for the living” recounting harrowing experiences of torture, overcrowding, and dehumanizing treatment during his seven-year imprisonment, Anadolu reports.

Mahmoud Samer Jabarin, a resident of Jenin Refugee Camp in the northern occupied West Bank, was released Saturday as part of a prisoner exchange deal mediated by Egypt, Qatar, and the US.

“I spent seven years in Israeli prisons,” Jabarin told Anadolu after his release. “The period during Israel’s genocide in Gaza was the hardest. We endured torture, beatings, and humiliation.”

He recounted the dire living conditions: “We were cut off from the world entirely. They (Israeli soldiers) took everything from us. We were all subjected to beatings and torture, and food was scarce. They showed no mercy, not to the elderly, children, or the sick.”

Read: Hamas releases 4 female Israeli soldiers under Gaza ceasefire deal

Jabarin detailed the abuse prisoners suffered, often in the middle of the night. “Israeli special forces would storm our cells at 2 a.m., assaulting us, spraying us with cold water, and firing tear gas without any reason,” he said. “We were beaten, cursed, and insulted at the whims of the soldiers.”

“Each room, barely 12 square meters, housed 12 prisoners with no mattresses,” said Jabarin.

“They would hurl abusive words at us, saying, ‘You shouldn’t be alive. You should be killed. You deserve to be crushed,’” he added.

Jabarin expressed gratitude to everyone who contributed to their release.

“I want to return to my home in the Jenin Refugee Camp today,” he said, adding: “But I’ve learned the Israeli army is conducting a military operation there. I pray for relief.”

The Israeli army has been carrying out a large-scale operation in Jenin for five consecutive days killing 14 Palestinians and injuring around 50 others, according to official Palestinian sources.

The Red Cross convoy carrying Palestinian prisoners arrives in Ramallah, West Bank, as part of the second round of the prisoner exchange agreement between Hamas and Israel on January 25, 2025. [Issam Rimawi – Anadolu Agency]

On Saturday, Hamas released four Israeli female soldiers to the International Committee of the Red Cross which handed them over to Israeli authorities. In exchange, 200 Palestinian prisoners were freed, including 30 serving life sentences and 20 with long sentences.

Currently, Israel holds over 10,300 Palestinian prisoners, while Hamas detains around 96 Israeli captives in Gaza.

The first six-week phase of the agreement took effect Jan. 19, suspending Israel’s genocidal war that has killed more than 47,000 Palestinians, most of them women and children, and injured more than 111,000 since Oct. 7, 2023.

On the first day of the ceasefire, Israel released 90 Palestinian detainees in return for three Israeli captives set free by Hamas.

The three-phase ceasefire agreement includes a prisoner exchange and sustained calm, aiming for a permanent truce and the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza.

The Israeli onslaught has left more than 11,000 people missing, with widespread destruction and a humanitarian crisis that has claimed the lives of untold numbers of elderly people, women and children.

The International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants last November for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.

Read: Palestine medics recover remains of 17 people from rubble in Rafah