On December 27, 2024, Israeli authorities arrested Palestinian journalist Aed Saleha, 44, at Kamal Adwan Hospital in Gaza’s Jabalia refugee camp.
Saleha, an editor at the Hamas-affiliated Radio Voice of Al-Aqsa, told CPJ that Israeli forces stormed the facility, detaining patients, medical staff, and fellow journalists at around 2:00 a.m.
“They arrested us and took us to the Zikim naval base in northern Gaza. From there, we were transferred to a prison in Jerusalem, then to the Sde Teiman detention camp, and later to Ktz’iot Prison in the desert,” he said.
At Sde Teiman, he alleged detainees were subjected to torture and humiliation.
“We were only allowed to sleep for four hours a day. The rest of the time we were shackled, forced to kneel or prostrate for long hours, or left standing under the rain for extended periods.”
Saleha, a father of two, said he appeared twice before a military court via video conference, where he was accused of belonging to a terrorist organization. He said the hearings were little more than a formality, with the judge refusing to listen to his defense.
He said he lost 22 kilograms during his imprisonment. “I was 96 kilograms when arrested and 74 when released,” he said. “What they gave us couldn’t be called food — it was just enough to keep us barely standing and alive.”
Saleha alleged that, before his release on October 13, 2025 as part of a ceasefire agreement, Israeli intelligence officers threatened to kill him if he returned to journalism.
Saleha’s testimony was included in CPJ’s 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, sexual abuse and 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 the “prisoners and detainees have the right to file a complaint that will be fully examined and addressed by official authorities.”