On January 25, 2024, Israeli security forces arrested Palestinian journalist Ali Abu Shariaa, 48, head of sports news for the Gaza bureau of the Palestinian Authority–funded Palestine TV, at an Israeli checkpoint as he and his family fled western Khan Yunis for Rafah. He told CPJ that soldiers seized his belongings, including his passport and money.
He said Israeli forces ordered him to strip, beat him, and tied his hands with plastic cuffs, blindfolded him, and forced him to kneel in the cold for hours alongside other detainees.
He said that he was then transported to an unknown location and interrogated. Following interrogation, he was transferred to another facility where he remained handcuffed and blindfolded for the entirety of his detention.
He told CPJ in an interview on September 10, 2024 that he was subjected to daily beatings, verbal abuse, humiliation, and severe sleep deprivation. He added that food rations were extremely minimal, causing him to lose 18 kilograms. He described experiencing severe psychological abuse, including soldiers manipulating weapons in earshot while he remained blindfolded, giving him the impression he was about to be executed.
Israeli forces released Abu Shariaa on February 16, 2024, after 23 days in custody.
Abu Sharia’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 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.”