Fatema Tambora vividly remembers the harrowing expertise of being subjected to a strip search by Israeli forces within the northern Gaza Strip.
“They forced me to strip completely, even removing my underwear,” recounted the Palestinian mom, who declined to reveal her age, in an interview with Anadolu Agency (AA) on Friday.
“During the search, they forcibly removed my hijab, conducted an aggressive examination using an electronic device, and applied it to sensitive parts of my body.”
The Israeli army launched a lethal offensive on the Gaza Strip thus far killing 30,700 folks, primarily girls and youngsters, following a cross-border assault by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023, which Tel Aviv claimed resulted in practically 1,200 casualties.
In a separate incident on Dec. 24, Israeli forces carried out a raid on a college in Gaza City the place Tambora, alongside along with her household and a whole bunch of different Palestinians, had sought refuge.
“Soldiers separated men from women and children and forced them to take off their clothes,” Tambora recalled.
They had been all ordered by troopers into a close-by mosque within the Sheikh Radwan neighborhood in Gaza City for investigation.
“Soldiers first ordered my husband into the mosque,” the Palestinian mom mentioned. “I was later separated from my children to be questioned by Israeli soldiers.”
The Palestinian girl was later handcuffed, blindfolded and dragged right into a army jeep.
“I appealed to the soldiers to know the fate of my husband and children, but one soldier shouted at me and ordered me to remain silent and only follow orders.”
Abuses
Tambora and different detainees had been transferred to an Israeli army jail.
“Israeli soldiers deliberately left women detainees with their hands and feet handcuffed for long periods of time,” she mentioned.
“Detainees were beaten, tortured, their hijab and clothes removed and forced to kiss the Israeli flag while being interrogated,” the Palestinian girl recalled.
They had been questioned about Hamas, its leaders and different Palestinian resistance factions.
“Whenever we said we didn’t know anything, we were beaten, tortured and insulted with obscene words,” she mentioned.
“We were freezing in the cold, but they refused to give us blankets,” Tambora mentioned. “They forced us to wear very light clothes without underwear, and they refused to allow us to wear the hijab.”
After 11 days, Tambora was transferred to Damon Prison close to the town of Haifa in northern Israel.
“Women detainees were forced by soldiers to take off their clothes in front of everyone, and they examined us in an immoral manner, focusing on private areas,” she mentioned.
“They threatened us with five years in prison if we refused to give information,” the Gazan girl mentioned.
“Female soldiers deliberately woke us up in the middle of the night to disturb us and prevent us from sleeping. They did not allow us to leave the room except for one hour to use the bathroom.”
Beaten, tortured
After 47 days of Israeli captivity, Tambora was ordered launched.
“We were transferred to another prison where we were left in the cold weather until midnight,” she mentioned.
“We were beaten and tortured on the bus by Israeli soldiers until we reached the Karam Abu Salem (Kerem Shalom) crossing in the morning when the soldiers removed our handcuffs and blindfolds and set us free.”
“We were received by delegates from the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) at the crossing and they transferred us to Rafah city in the southern Gaza Strip,” Tambora mentioned.
More than 30,700 Palestinians have been killed and over 72,000 others injured in Israel’s ongoing offensive in Gaza amid mass destruction and shortages of requirements.
Palestinian teams estimate that hundreds of Palestinians have been detained by Israeli forces within the Gaza Strip since Oct. 7.
Israel has additionally imposed a crippling blockade on the seaside enclave, leaving its inhabitants, notably residents of northern Gaza, on the verge of hunger.
The Israeli warfare has pushed 85% of Gaza’s inhabitants into inside displacement amid acute shortages of meals, clear water and medication, whereas 60% of the enclave’s infrastructure has been broken or destroyed, in keeping with the U.N.
Israel stands accused of genocide on the International Court of Justice (ICJ). An interim ruling in January ordered Tel Aviv to cease genocidal acts and take measures to ensure that humanitarian help is supplied to civilians in Gaza.
Source: www.dailysabah.com