On November 19, 2023, award-winning Palestinian poet and essayist Mosab Abu Toha was detained by Israeli forces as he attempted to flee with his family to southern Gaza amid intense bombardment; he had recently written for The New Yorker, The New York Times, and The Atlantic about the destruction in his neighborhood.
Abu Toha was held for 54 hours. The IDF later stated that he was detained due to “intelligence indicating interactions between several civilians and terror organizations inside the Gaza Strip.”
He was released on November 21. He posted on social media that he suffered severe pain in his nose and teeth after Israeli soldiers beat him while in custody. He also said that the Israeli forces confiscated his family’s passports, including the passport belonging to his American-born son, along with clothing, money, credit cards, and personal belongings, none of which was returned.
CPJ routinely contacts the Israel Defense Forces' North America Media Desk about its arrests of journalists. In one 2024 response the IDF said it detains ‘individuals suspected of involvement in terrorist activity,' but has either provided no evidence or unsubstantiated evidence to CPJ to support these suspicions. CPJ has also contacted the Israeli Prison Service, the Palestinian General Intelligence Service, and Shin Bet about Palestinian journalists arrested in the West Bank but did not receive any replies.