On December 8, 2023, Israeli forces arrested Palestinian journalist Ahmed Shaqoura, head of digital media in Gaza of the Beirut-based pro-Islamic Jihad Palestine Today TV, at his home in western Gaza City.
“It was their policy to subject detainees to all forms of torture from the first moment of the arrest,” the 38-year-old told CPJ in March 2025. “They broke my ribs. They also used plastic cuffs to tie my hands, causing them to bleed heavily.”
Shaqoura said he witnessed abuse at every location where he was detained, starting at the initial investigation checkpoint and throughout his imprisonment.
“I was subjected to severe torture that resulted in the rupture of my leg muscles, which lasted for two months,” he said, describing the 140 days he spent in northern Israel’s Al-Jalame Prison.
Shaqoura told CPJ he suffered extreme food deprivation, causing dramatic weight loss, from 126 to 72 kilograms. His final period of detention was in Ktzi’ot Prison in Israel’s southern Negev desert.
Israeli authorities released Shaqoura on February 15, 2025, as part of a prisoner–hostage exchange with Hamas.
Shaqoura’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, 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.