The United Nations Committee against Torture is worried. They have heard many reports of bad treatment. These reports are about Palestinian people held in Israeli prisons. The mistreatment includes sexual abuse and physical violence. Rights groups say this abuse is happening often. It has increased a lot since October 7th.
This UN group watches countries that signed the Convention against Torture. They say the accusations have grown much worse. This started after Hamas attacked Israel. The committee believes this shows a bad pattern. It might mean that torture is a planned policy. This puts more international attention on how Israel treats Palestinian prisoners.
One man, Sami al-Saei, shared his story. He is a former journalist. He was held for sixteen months. He says guards attacked him at Megiddo prison. He claims they sexually abused him. His arrest was because he helped journalists talk to Hamas members.
More worries come from leaked video. The CCTV footage shows abuse in an Israeli military center. It shows guards sexually abusing a man from Gaza. This video appeared last year. It caused anger and led to people losing jobs in the Israeli military.
Human rights groups in Israel and Palestine are collecting evidence. They call the abuse "systematic." They think some prison staff feel they can do this. They believe there is a "culture of impunity." This means people are not punished for bad actions. This encourages some staff to treat detainees badly.
These new reports put pressure on Israel. They must deal with these serious allegations. Israel has not yet answered the UN committee's statement. In the past, Israel has said its forces follow the law. However, many similar stories and the disturbing video make this hard to believe. Independent investigations are now very important.