“We returned from hell.” That is how journalist Imad Ifranji described his release from Sde Teiman — one of Israel’s military detention facilities that has now been documented by multiple human rights organizations as a site of systematic abuse.

On February 19, the Committee to Protect Journalists released a comprehensive special report based on in-depth interviews with 59 Palestinian journalists released from Israeli custody since October 2023. The findings: 58 of the 59 — all but one — reported being subjected to what they described as torture, abuse, or other forms of violence in custody. The methods documented were “strikingly consistent” across different facilities and different detainees.

The report details beatings with batons and electroshocks; prolonged forced stress positions including being suspended by arms bound behind the back; confinement in “disco rooms” where speakers played music at ear-splitting volume for days at a time; starvation — with an average weight loss of 23.5 kilograms across those interviewed; and sexual violence, including rape. CPJ documented 17 testimonies involving sexual violence and 19 more involving humiliating strip searches. At least two journalists reported being raped by Israeli captors. One journalist, Sami al-Sai, described being stripped and penetrated with a baton and other objects at Megiddo prison. Israeli human rights group B’Tselem has described the overall system as a “network of torture camps.”

More than 80 percent of the journalists interviewed — 48 of 58 — were held under Israel’s administrative detention system, meaning they were never charged with any crime. Seventeen said they were never allowed to speak to a lawyer at all. CPJ has documented the detention of at least 94 Palestinian journalists and one media worker since October 2023; 30 remain in custody as of the report’s publication. One journalist CPJ attempted to contact, Ismail al-Ghoul, had been killed in an Israeli airstrike before they could reach him.

“These are not isolated incidents,” said CPJ Regional Director Sara Qudah. “They expose a deliberate strategy to intimidate and silence journalists, and destroy their ability to bear witness.”

CPJ CEO Jodie Ginsberg called for international action. CPJ emailed Israel’s Minister of National Security and the relevant ministries. They received no response.