Three Palestinian minors freed in a prisoner exchange say they were tortured, electrocuted, and psychologically abused in Israeli detention, according to a report by DCIP.
A new report by Defense for Children International – Palestine (DCIP) has revealed the severe abuse endured by three Palestinian minors recently released under a prisoner exchange agreement.
According to the report, the boys were abducted by Israeli occupation forces while attempting to access humanitarian aid and later subjected to torture and degrading treatment in detention.
The teenagers — Mohammad Nael Khamis al-Zoghbi (17), Faris Ibrahim Faris Abu Jabal (16), and Mahmoud Hani Mohammad al-Majayda (17) — were arrested near aid distribution points and held at the Sde Teiman detention facility in southern occupied Palestine.
NEW: We interviewed three Palestinian boys abducted by Israeli forces from Gaza and brutally tortured at Sde Teiman.
Israeli forces subjected 17-year-old Mahmoud to the disco room multiple times and tried to recruit him as a collaborator. He attempted suicide twice. pic.twitter.com/e00sNehqak
— Defense for Children (@DCIPalestine) November 13, 2025
In testimonies to DCIP, the boys described systematic abuse, including physical torture, electrocution, sleep deprivation, starvation, isolation, and psychological torment. All three continue to suffer long-term trauma following their release.
Abu Jabal, detained on September 11 while collecting aid with his father, said interrogators beat him so severely that his forehead split open and required stitches. “I was deprived of food, water, and access to the bathroom. I felt trapped and terrified,” he said.
He also described being held in a room referred to as the “disco room,” where loud Hebrew music was blasted continuously while he was forced to lie flat on the floor for over 12 hours. Throughout the ordeal, soldiers repeatedly beat him and slammed his head against the wall.
Majayda, detained on August 7 in Rafah, recounted being blindfolded, beaten, electrocuted, and placed in freezing conditions. After prison officers marked an “X” on his back, he was transferred to solitary confinement with his wrists and ankles bound.
He said an Israeli intelligence officer attempted to recruit him as a human shield in exchange for a monthly payment. When he refused, he was returned to the “disco room” and tortured again. He later attempted suicide twice while inside the facility.
Zoghbi, detained on July 11, said his handcuffs were tightened so forcefully he heard bones in his arm crack. He reported that guards released dogs into his cell and threw stun grenades during nightly raids. “If I did not wake immediately, they beat me,” he said.
Read and share "The Prison is Inside Me," featuring the testimonies of three Palestinian boys from Gaza, here.https://t.co/7vPLkDTAnk
— Defense for Children (@DCIPalestine) November 13, 2025
Since their release, all three boys have displayed severe psychological distress. Abu Jabal’s mother said he wakes up screaming and begging not to be beaten. Zoghbi said he continues to wake every night at 2 a.m., expecting a raid. “Each time I recall those moments, I find myself sitting alone and crying,” he said.
Majayda added: “Prison erased my childhood. Now I must relearn how to laugh, how to sleep, and how to feel safe.” The boys also reported involuntary urination, panic attacks, insomnia, and constant fear — symptoms DCIP notes are consistent with trauma caused by torture.
DCIP stated that the treatment described by the boys reflects a wider, systematic pattern of abuse targeting Palestinian children. “Israel’s detention of Palestinians is not about security or legal process,” the organization said.
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“It is a deliberate system designed to inflict lasting physical and psychological harm and crush any attempt to resist apartheid or demand basic rights.”
According to the organization, the torture of minors violates multiple international frameworks, including the Geneva Conventions, the Rome Statute, and the Convention Against Torture, all of which prohibit torture, especially against children.
DCIP has called for immediate international accountability and independent investigations. The testimonies come amid growing evidence of mass arrests, enforced disappearances, and widespread abuse of Palestinians during Israel’s assault on Gaza, despite a ceasefire that has already displaced most of the population and killed tens of thousands.
(PC, Al Mayadeen)
