Committee to Protect Journalists documents torture of Palestinian journalists in Israeli custody

The Committee to Protect Journalists, a U.S.-based nonprofit organization, released a report documenting allegations of torture and abuse against Palestinian journalists detained by Israeli authorities. The report, published February 19, collected testimonies from 59 Palestinian journalists released from Israeli custody between October 7, 2023 and January 30, 2026.

According to the CPJ, Israel arrested at least 94 Palestinian journalists and one media worker during the two-year conflict between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. Of those arrested, 60 were from the West Bank and 33 were from the Gaza Strip. As of the report's publication, 30 journalists remained in custody, while five of the six other released journalists declined to testify, citing fear of retaliation. One journalist, Ismail al-Ghoul, was killed in an Israeli airstrike.

All but one of the 59 interviewed journalists reported experiencing abuse. The alleged mistreatment included routine beatings with batons, electric shocks, stress positions—some conducted under sewage water—starvation, and sexual assault. Detainees also reported having genitals bound with plastic ties and being subjected to threats.

The majority of detained journalists, 48 in total, were held without being charged with any crime. Israel detained them under administrative arrest, a legal mechanism that allows Palestinians to be imprisoned without trial and without the opportunity to mount a defense against allegations. Some detainees were held for extended periods under this arrangement.

The CPJ noted that according to its census of prisoners from the previous year, Israel ranks among the world's leading jailers of journalists since 2023. The organization's statement opening the report quoted detainees as saying, "We returned from hell," describing their experiences in Israeli custody.