CPJ Report Alleges Palestinian Journalists Tortured in Israeli Prisons

The Committee to Protect Journalists reports that dozens of Palestinian journalists were allegedly abused after being detained by Israel during the war with Hamas. Nearly all of 59 testimonies described mistreatment. At least 94 journalists were arrested, most without charge. Israel denies prison abuse allegations.

A new report published by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) indicates that dozens of Palestinian journalists endured torture, sexual assault and severe deprivation after being detained by Israeli authorities during the two-year war between Israel and the militant group Hamas in Gaza.
The US-based press freedom organization said it gathered 59 testimonies from media professionals who had been detained by Israel since October 7, 2023. According to CPJ, all but one of those interviewed reported experiencing some form of abuse while in custody.
The group stated that Israeli authorities arrested at least 94 Palestinian journalists and one additional media worker during the two-year conflict. Among those detained, 60 were from the illegally occupied West Bank, while 33 were from the Gaza Strip.
The report notes that the majority of the journalists — 48 in total — were never formally charged with any crime. Instead, they were held under administrative detention, a legal mechanism that allows for imprisonment without trial and without the opportunity for detainees to challenge the evidence against them in court. Some of those held under this system have reportedly been detained for more than two years without due process.
Figures cited from the Israeli human rights group Hamoked: Center for the Defense of the Individual show that as of February 2026, 3,358 Palestinians were being held in administrative detention. Of that number, 3,308 were awaiting trial, and 1,249 were classified as “illegal combatants.”
Under Israeli law, the designation “illegal combatant” primarily applies to Palestinians from Gaza who do not qualify as prisoners of war under international humanitarian law, placing them outside the protections afforded to such prisoners.
In addition to those detained without charge, ten journalists were formally accused of offenses including incitement, anti-state activity or promoting terrorism. As of Thursday, CPJ reported that 30 journalists remained in Israeli custody.
The broader toll on media workers during the war has also been significant. According to the United Nations, more than 200 media professionals were killed over the course of Israel’s two-year war in Gaza.
CPJ’s report details several testimonies that contain graphic descriptions of physical, sexual and psychological abuse. One of the accounts cited is that of Ahmed Abdel Aal, who works for Shehab News Agency, an outlet described by CPJ as affiliated with Hamas. Abdel Aal said he endured a five-day period during which loud music was played continuously at high volume while he was blindfolded, stripped and beaten.
He further stated that whenever he appeared close to losing consciousness, he was jolted awake with electric shocks or struck with blows, preventing him from passing out.
Another Palestinian journalist, who requested anonymity out of fear that he might be detained again, described being beaten while his genitals were bound with zip ties. He said soldiers told him he would “no longer be a man,” a statement he interpreted as both a threat and an act of humiliation.
Other testimonies in the report describe ongoing physical violence and mental torture. Some detainees alleged that conditions worsened following a visit by Israel’s far-right national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, whose office oversees the Israel Prison Service.
Since assuming office in December 2022, Ben-Gvir has frequently spoken publicly about imposing harsher conditions on Palestinian prisoners. According to accounts from some Israeli hostages who were held by Hamas in Gaza and later released, his public statements about tightening prison conditions for Palestinians led their captors to impose more severe treatment on Israeli hostages in retaliation.
While CPJ stressed that it was unable to independently verify every allegation, it noted that similar accounts of abuse have been documented by other human rights organizations since October 7, 2023. A January report titled “Living Hell” by the Israeli NGO B'Tselem described comparable conditions. The group’s executive director, Yuli Novak, told media outlets that Israel’s prison system had effectively become “a network of torture camps.”
One particularly high-profile case cited in public debate involved footage released by Israeli media in June 2024 that appeared to show soldiers sexually and physically abusing a Palestinian detainee at the Sde Teiman detention center. The video drew widespread attention both within Israel and internationally.
Following the release of the footage, Israeli far-right activists, including several high-profile government supporters, stormed both the Sde Teiman facility and the Beit Lid military court in solidarity with reservists reported to have carried out the alleged abuse.
The reservists are suspected of raping and severely assaulting the Palestinian detainee seen in the video. Reports indicated that his injuries were so serious that he required hospitalization. The case remains under consideration in Israeli courts.
In November 2025, the Israeli daily newspaper Haaretz reported that the government’s decision to release the detainee back to Gaza as part of a deal securing the release of living Israeli hostages — without first obtaining his testimony — could significantly weaken the prosecution’s case and increase the likelihood that the charges might ultimately be dropped.
Israel’s government and the official Israel Prison Service have consistently rejected allegations of systematic abuse in the country’s detention facilities, maintaining that detainees are treated in accordance with the law and denying claims of torture or sexual violence.