‘Torture, threats, rape’: Palestinian journalists detail Israeli jail abuse

CPJ report shares harrowing accounts of dozens of Palestinian journalists jailed by Israel since October 2023.Published On 19 Feb 2026Palestinian journalists jailed by Israel have reported widespread abuse in custody, including routine beatings, starvation and sexual assault, according to testimony published by the International Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).In a February 19 report, the media rights group said it interviewed 59 Palestinian journalists imprisoned by Israel after the Hamas-led attacks of October 2023. All but one reported experiencing “torture, abuse or other forms of violence”, it said.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Why did Israel jail journalist who witnessed Shireen Abu Akleh’s killing?list 2 of 3One year on, No Other Land co-director says Israeli attacks intensifyinglist 3 of 3Palestinians fear West Bank annexation after Israel approves new rulesend of listThe alleged abuse meted out by Israeli authorities ranged from baton beatings and electroshocks to excruciating stress positions – including under sewage water – as well as sexual violence. Two journalists said they were raped.Journalist Sami al-Sai said soldiers stripped him and penetrated him with a baton and other items in a small cell in Israel’s Megiddo prison, an ordeal he said left him in a “severe psychological state”.“Descriptions of sexual violence appeared repeatedly in the testimonies, with journalists describing assaults as intended to humiliate, terrorise and permanently scar them”, said the CPJ report.‘We will kill your family’Other accounts detailed psychological abuse, including threats to kill family members, sleep deprivation through loud music and medical neglect, such as being denied treatment for severe bone fractures and eye injuries.Journalist Amin Baraka said he was repeatedly threatened for his work with Al Jazeera.“An Israeli soldier told me, word for word in Arabic, ‘Al Jazeera correspondent Wael al-Dahdouh defied us and remained in the Gaza Strip, so we killed his family. We will kill your family, too,’” Baraka told CPJ.