Palestinian journalist Osama al-Sayed, a reporter for the Hamas-funded broadcaster Al-Aqsa TV and contributer to the Qatari-funded broadcaster Al Jazeera, was arrested on March 18, 2024 when Israeli forces launched an offensive on Gaza City’s Al-Shifa Hospital complex, according to the Beirut-based regional press freedom group SKeyes and Al-Sayed’s wife, Hadeel Hamdan. Other journalists were also arrested in the raid.
On October 13, 2025, Al-Sayed was released as part of the Israel-Hamas ceasefire dealafter spending nearly 500 days in detention. Al-Sayed told CPJ that he spent about 100 days in Sde Teiman detention center in Israel near the Gaza border, around 40 days in Ofer prison, near Ramallah, and Ketziot prison, in southern Israel’s Negev desert, near the border with Egypt, for the remainder of his detention. He said he was repeated called “Al Jazeera” by staff at the prison, an outlet he freelanced for, but is not a staff member of.
At Sde Teiman, he said he was held in a section detainees referred to as “hell,” where he was blindfolded and forced into stress positions outdoors for days, as birds defecated on him and worms crawled around him. He said he witnessed the alleged mutilation and execution of other prisoners there, and that he was repeatedly beaten, leaving him with broken ribs and teeth. He also reported being pepper-sprayed and subjected to electric shocks.
Al-Sayed also alleged experiencing sexual violence at the facility. He said he, along with other detainees, were taken to a blind spot where trained dogs attacked and sexually assaulted them, while soldiers laughed and recorded with their phones.
He said he lost over 40 kilograms while at Sde Teiman.
Al-Sayed’s testimony was included in the CPJ special report, “We returned from hell,” published in February 2026, which compiles accounts from 58 journalists who reported patterns of abuse, torture and mistreatment against Palestinian journalists inside Israeli prisoners.
The Israeli military did not respond to CPJ’s repeated requests for comment on specific allegations by journalists, instead requesting ID numbers and geographic coordinates that CPJ does not collect or provide. When asked about allegations of physical and sexual abuse, starvation, and the investigation and accountability process, an army spokesperson said “individuals detained are treated in accordance with international law,” adding that the armed forces “have never, and will never, deliberately target journalists,” and that any violations of protocol “will be looked into.”
CPJ also emailed the Israel Prison Service (IPS) regarding the allegations. In response, the IPS said “all prisoners are detained according to the law” and that “all basic rights are fully upheld by professionally trained prison guards.” The service said it was unaware of the claims described, and that to its knowledge “no such events have occurred,” but noted that “prisoners and detainees have the right to file a complaint that will be fully examined and addressed by official authorities.”