Israel released a Palestinian man in severe health condition on Tuesday after holding him for nine months, as reported by a local nongovernmental organization.
Muazzam Khalil Abayat, 37, from Bethlehem in the West Bank, was detained by Israeli forces in October 2023 and held without charge under Israel’s administrative detention policy.
“Abayat was released from the Negev prison in a grave and shocking health condition,” stated the Palestinian Prisoner Society.
The NGO reported that Abayat was brutally beaten during his arrest in late October 2023.
“He was subjected to a series of vicious assaults, including torture and starvation,” the organization said. “His health condition after his release today serves as a testament to what he endured during his detention.”
Abayat had been detained twice before by Israeli forces and had no health problems before his latest arrest.
Currently, at least 3,380 Palestinians, including women and children, are held without charge in Israeli prisons, according to Palestinian sources.
Israel has faced international condemnation for its ongoing offensive on Gaza, which began after an Oct. 7, 2023, attack by Hamas. This offensive has continued despite a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire.
More than 38,200 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have been killed, and over 88,000 injured, according to local health authorities.
Nine months into the conflict, large areas of Gaza remain in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water, and medicine.
Israel has been accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice. The court’s latest ruling ordered Israel to immediately halt its military operations in the southern city of Rafah, where over a million Palestinians had sought refuge before the city was invaded on May 6.
