Israel army says 9 soldiers held over suspected abuse of detainee

The Israeli military said Monday nine soldiers were being held in a case of suspected abuse of a Palestinian detainee at a facility holding Palestinians arrested from Gaza during the war.

Israeli civilians protested outside a military base where the nine soldiers were being held, while several others -- also in an attempt to show support -- broke into a detention facility where the alleged abuse occurred.

A military spokesman confirmed to AFP that nine soldiers had been held and they "were taken for questioning" on the case.

The military said it has opened an investigation into the "suspected abuse" of a detainee at the Sde Teiman base set up for holding Palestinians arrested in Gaza since the war broke out.

After fighting between Hamas militants and Israeli forces began in Gaza, United Nations agencies, rights advocates, officials in the Hamas-run territory and ex-prisoners interviewed by AFP have all alleged abuses during detention.

Israel's military has said its detention conditions are in line with international law.

Israeli media reported that the detainee was a Palestinian who had allegedly been abused by some Israeli soldiers at the facility.

The Palestinian Prisoners Club, a prison watchdog, accused the prison guards of sexually abusing the Palestinian detainee.

"This is a new rape crime committed against a detainee at the Sde Teiman camp by a group of prison guards," Abdullah Al-Zaghari, head of the NGO, told AFP.

Several far-right Israelis, on hearing of the soldiers' detention, rushed towards Sde Teiman to show support for the accused, with several even managing to break into the facility, live footage broadcast by Israeli television networks showed.

Television footage also showed Israeli civilians protesting outside a military base where the soldiers were being questioned, with some protesters briefly managing to break in before being dispersed.

- Condemnation -

"Take your hands off the reservists," Itamar Ben Gvir, Israel's far-right National Security Minister, wrote on X.

Meanwhile, other top Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and army chief Lieutenant-General Herzi Halevi, condemned the mob action.

"Breaking into a military base and disturbing the order there is severe behaviour that is not acceptable in any way," Halevi said in a statement.

"We are in the midst of a war and actions of this type endanger the security of the state."

"I strongly condemn the incident, and we are working to restore order at the base," he said.

Netanyahu urged the restoration of calm, saying he "strongly condemns the breaking into an IDF (military) base," a statement issued by his office said.

Defence Minister Yoav Gallant also slammed those who broke into the facility.

"Even in difficult times, the law applies to anyone -- nobody may trespass into IDF bases or violate the laws of the state of Israel," Gallant said in a statement.

The Sde Teiman facility was set up to detain Palestinians arrested in the Gaza Strip soon after the war there began on October 7 following the surprise attack by Hamas on southern Israel.

The Hamas attack resulted in the deaths of 1,197 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.

Militants also seized 251 people, 111 of whom are still held in Gaza, including 39 who the military says are dead.

Israel's retaliatory response has killed 39,363 people in Gaza, according to Gaza's health ministry which does not provide details on civilian and militant deaths.

Amnesty International this month called on Israel to end the indefinite detention of Gaza Palestinians and what it called "rampant torture" in its prisons.

Amnesty said it had documented 27 cases of Palestinians, including five women and a 14-year-old boy, who were detained "for up to four and a half months" without being able to contact their families.