By Lina Altawell
ISTANBUL (AA) – Palestinians returning to the Gaza Strip through the recently reopened Rafah crossing have reported a repeated pattern of mistreatment, abuse and humiliation by Israeli military forces, the UN human rights office said.
In a statement, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) said returnees stated that they were taken after crossing by armed Palestinians allegedly backed by the Israeli army to an Israeli military checkpoint.
According to the accounts, some of those armed individuals bound returnees, blindfolded them, searched them, threatened and intimidated them, and stole personal belongings and money.
Upon arrival at the Israeli checkpoint, returnees described a pattern of violence, degrading interrogations and invasive body searches that violated their privacy.
In some cases, those searches were conducted while their hands were bound and their eyes covered, the office added.
Returnees also said soldiers denied some of them access to medical care and blocked them from using toilets, leading to severe humiliation that included forcing some individuals to urinate in public.
The office said several returnees reported being asked whether they would accept money in exchange for returning to Egypt with their families and never going back to Gaza.
Others said they were offered money to work as informants for the Israeli army.
- Inhuman treatment
The UN rights office said the accounts collectively point to a pattern of behavior that violates Palestinians’ rights to personal security and dignity, as well as their right to protection from torture, ill-treatment and other forms of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment.
It said the reported pattern toward returnees raises serious concerns about coercive practices that may deter Palestinians from exercising their right to return to areas they were forced to leave, contributing to “the consolidation of ethnic cleansing in Gaza.”
Office Director Ajith Sunghay said the international community bears responsibility for ensuring that all measures related to Gaza comply with international law and fully respect Palestinians’ human rights.
“After two years of devastation, their ability to return to their families and what remains of their homes safely and with dignity is the bare minimum,” Sunghay said.
UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric called on all parties to “uphold their obligations under international humanitarian law to protect civilians and civilian infrastructure.”
He added that UN teams on the ground received 25 additional returnees overnight after they crossed through the Rafah crossing.
Staff from the UN Development Program provided transportation to Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, where OCHA and its partners continue to operate a reception center with protection specialists, psychologists and medical staff to support newly arrived returnees, Dujarric added.
The World Health Organization and its partners supported the evacuation of 22 patients and 31 companions from Gaza to Egypt through the Rafah crossing on Wednesday and Thursday.
WHO said its main priorities include ensuring greater entry of humanitarian aid and supplies into Gaza, accelerating health services, rehabilitating damaged facilities and expanding critical services.
“Those efforts are essential to building a resilient and sustainable health system and reducing the need for medical evacuations,” the organization said.
Dujarric reiterated calls to reopen the medical referral route to the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, to improve access to care for more patients.
More than 18,500 patients in Gaza still require specialized treatment that is not available locally, he said.
A ceasefire deal that took effect on Oct. 10 ended an Israeli offensive that began in October 2023 and lasted two years, killing nearly 72,000 Palestinians and wounding over 171,000 others, while destroying about 90% of Gaza’s infrastructure.
Despite the ceasefire, the Israeli army has continued to violate it, killing 574 Palestinians and wounding 1,518 others, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.