Israeli forces arrested Palestinian journalist Khader Abdel Aal, a freelance reporter who contributes to Sawa News Agency and the U.S.-based news website Al-Monitor, during a raid on Al-Shifa hospital complex in Gaza City on March 18, 2024. Israeli forces also arrested his brother, journalist Ahmed Abdel Aal, during the same operation. Israeli authorities released Khader Abdel Aal on February 27, 2025, after about 11 months in detention.
Abdel Aal told CPJ after his release that he had sought refuge at Al-Shifa after Israeli strikes destroyed his home in Gaza City.
He said Israeli troops stormed the hospital compound with tanks and air cover before detaining him. During the first 24 hours of detention, soldiers beat him severely and forced him to strip for searches, he said.
Abdel Aal said Israeli authorities transferred him to Sde Teiman detention camp, where he remained for about 91 days. He told CPJ that he was held blindfolded and handcuffed for long periods and subjected to repeated beatings that left several of his ribs broken. About two weeks after their arrest, he said he was separated from his brother Ahmed at the facility.
Israeli authorities later transferred him to Ofer prison, where he said he spent about eight months and experienced continued physical abuse and harsh detention conditions, before being moved to Ktzi'ot prison in southern Israel’s Negev Desert.
Abdel Aal said Israeli authorities held several court sessions via video conference during his detention and accused him of belonging to a terrorist organization, allegations he denied. He described the proceedings as perfunctory and said they resulted in repeated extensions of his detention.
He also told CPJ that detainees received minimal medical care and extremely limited food portions. A minor wound he sustained remained untreated for months, and he said the small food rations caused him to lose about 10 kilograms (22 pounds) during detention.
The Palestinian prisoner support group Addameer visited Khader at Ofer prison on September 26, 2024, and Palestinian Commission of Detainee Affairs visited him on October 28. Addameer told CPJ that Israeli authorities had interrogated him twice and held two trial sessions. Addameer also said that Abdel Aal said that Israeli guards at Ofer prison physically and psychologically tortured him and the other detainees, including by directing them to cheer for an official designated as the “captain” and then assaulting whomever did not comply, as well as by forcing detainees to kneel or lie on their stomachs for six or seven hours at a time on days when they received visits from their lawyers. Abdel also said that prison guards were beating them less frequently than before and had also removed their handcuffs, according to Addameer.
Abdel Aal was among the journalists whose 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 prisons.
The Israeli military did not respond to CPJ’s repeated requests for comment on specific allegations by journalists in the report, 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 the report. 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.”