Three Palestinians died in Israeli custody, relatives say

The handcuffed bodies of three Palestinian men freed from Israeli custody were found near Gaza’s border with Israel, and an uncle of one of them and a witness said they were attacked by Israeli forces shortly after their release.

Abdel Hadi Ghabayen, uncle of one of the detainees, Kamel Ghabayen, said he went out at 5 am on Sunday (7) to look for his nephew after his arrest by Israeli forces on Saturday (6).

“I found him abandoned on the ground along with the other two martyrs. They were without clothes and their hands had plastic handcuffs placed on them by the Israeli army,” Ghabayen said.

The bodies were found near the Israeli border fence on Sunday near the Karam Abu Salem crossing in southern Gaza, he said.

Reuters was unable to independently confirm what happened to the three men or why they were arrested. The Israeli military did not respond to a request for comment on these reports.

Abdel Hadi Ghabayen said one of the men had lost a leg and his body was “in pieces” after what he said was an attack carried out shortly after his release. He said that when he tried to retrieve the man’s dismembered leg, the Israelis “started shooting at me, so I stopped.” He later loaded the bodies of the three men in his truck to Nasser Hospital in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis.

The three — Kamel Ghabayen, Mohammed Awad Ramadan Abu Hejazi and Ramadan Awad Ramadan Aby Hejaz — were among several Palestinians detained on Saturday and held for questioning, according to one of the men, Mahmoud Abu Taha.

Abu Taha said they were attacked shortly after their release.

“We arrived at Karkar Street (in Gaza). After 10 minutes there, we found a bomb thrown at the people who were with me. Thank God I was in front. The bomb hit 6 or 7 people who were detained with us. God, I am alive,” he said.

The war began on October 7 when fighters led by Gaza’s Hamas-controlled government attacked southern Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking about 250 hostages, according to Israeli figures. More than 38,000 Palestinians have been killed in the Israeli military offensive since then, according to Gaza health officials.