Gazan doctor editor: Death is easier than torture in Israeli prisons

Mark
Written By Mark

It was not easy for Palestinian doctor Mustafa Jawad Siam to be subjected to all kinds of physical and psychological torture by the Israeli army following his arrest from Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City last March.

Siam (30 years old), who spent 54 days in detention, believes that death was easier for him than the psychological and physical torture he was subjected to at the hands of the Israeli army.

The doctor, who was arrested by the Israeli army during the storming of the Shifa Medical Complex in March, did not expect to be on the list of prisoners and face baseless charges.

In early April, the Israeli army withdrew from Al-Shifa Hospital after a two-week military operation, leaving massive destruction, a large number of corpses, mass graves, and the arrest of Palestinians, including doctors.

Since his release on May 10, Dr. Siam has been undergoing intensive treatment at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir Al-Balah, as a result of the effects of the torture he was subjected to during his detention period.

The doctor’s features show signs of extreme weakness and frailty as a result of the lack of food and the suffering he was subjected to in Israeli detention centers.

During his detention, Siam did not experience any kind of rest, and faced psychological and physical torture, in addition to lack of food and water, lack of sleep, and very poor detention conditions.

In an interview with Anatolia, the doctor who was arrested while working in the hospital said: Death is easier for us than torture inside Israeli detention centers.

He added: I was arrested while performing my work (..) in addition to the arrest of many people of different ages, including the elderly.

to torture

He continues, “We were subjected to investigation and faced many types of physical and psychological torture. I was charged with false charges (which he did not mention) and we were deported to Israel.”

Siyam points out that he was practicing his work as a doctor, and had nothing to do with anything else, and that the episodes of torture that happened to him cannot be mentioned because they were bad.

He explains that detainees from the Gaza Strip are always beaten, their hands are tied, and their eyes are covered, and the army releases dogs on them, and provides them with little and bad food, indicating that the conditions of detention are very difficult.

It is noteworthy that there are young and elderly prisoners in Israeli prisons who have nothing to do with anything, and they are subjected to various types of torture without regard to their ages.

During the past months, the army released dozens of detainees in separate batches, most of whom were suffering from deteriorating health conditions.

According to the testimonies of previously released detainees, detainees are subjected to beatings, torture, insults and interrogations from the Israeli army throughout the period of detention.

Since October 7, Israel has been waging a devastating war on the Gaza Strip, leaving more than 117,000 Palestinians dead and wounded, most of them children and women, amid massive destruction.