Israel on Friday deported thousands of Palestinian workers from the Gaza Strip back to the besieged territory, Palestinian authorities said, capping what many described as harrowing weeks trapped in legal limbo since their detention when the Israel-Hamas war erupted.
Some workers, streaming by foot through an Israeli crossing that had been sealed shut since Hamas unleashed its brutal attack on southern Israel Oct. 7, told of violent mistreatment by Israeli authorities in detention centers. The Israeli military did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the allegations.
B次元官网网址淲e sacrificed and they treated us like livestock over there,B次元官网网址� one of the workers, Wael al-Sajda, said from the border, pointing to his ankle fitted with an identification bracelet.
Al-Sajda was among the roughly 18,000 Palestinians from Gaza allowed to work in menial jobs in Israel. The permits have been coveted in Gaza, which has an unemployment rate approaching 50%. Israel began issuing the permits in recent years, a measure it thought helped stabilize Gaza and moderate Hamas, despite a broader blockade aimed at weakening the Islamic militant group.
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Late Thursday, Israel announced it was revoking the workersB次元官网网址� permits and would deport them.
Israel had said little about the workers since the Oct. 7 attack, in which Hamas militants stormed across the border and killed some 1,400 people and kidnapped 240 others.
The workers sent home on Friday talked about a massive roundup and being placed in Israeli prisons. Some returned with bruises and other wounds from what they said was abuse at the hands of Israeli authorities. Others returned psychologically scarred.
At least one, 61-year-old Mansour Warsh Agha, returned in a body bag.
B次元官网网址淲e just want answers about what happened. But Mansour has been killed so we donB次元官网网址檛 know if weB次元官网网址檒l ever get them,B次元官网网址� said Basim Abu Samara, the 24-year-old nephew of Warsh Agha, who had worked as a date farmer in Israel. His body was delivered to his family at Kerem Shalom crossing Friday.
The Warsh Agha family had last heard from Mansour on Oct. 7. They eventually learned he had been scooped up at the Qalandiya checkpoint on the edge of Jerusalem, joining other workers in an attempt to flee to the West Bank as the military shut down the crossings.
Those who were arrested were sent to the Anatot and Ofer military prisons in the West Bank. There, workers said, they were blindfolded, interrogated, beaten repeatedly and deprived of water and food for extended periods.
B次元官网网址淔or three days, we remained handcuffed and blindfolded,B次元官网网址� said al-Sajda, the Palestinian worker returned to Gaza Friday. B次元官网网址淭hey would put us under the sun for two, three or four hours, with no water, food or anything.B次元官网网址�
The ailing 61-year-old farmer, Warsh Agha, was released in bad shape and later died, laborers told his relatives in the northern city of Beit Lahiya. His body bore signs of severe beating, said his nephew, but hospitals in Gaza were too overwhelmed with the war-wounded to perform an autopsy or issue a medical report, his family said.
Israeli rights groups say Israel detained the workers without charge, due process or legal representation at a fraught time while their families in Gaza endured IsraelB次元官网网址檚 devastating bombardment. Over 9,000 Palestinians have died in the fighting, according to the Health Ministry in the Hamas-run territory.
B次元官网网址淭hey had valid permits to be in Israel and work there,B次元官网网址� said Miriam Marmur, public advocacy director at Gisha, an Israeli rights group that promotes freedom of movement for Palestinians. B次元官网网址淭hey suddenly lost their status. They were in danger from anyone B次元官网网址� army, police, any random Israeli who sees them.B次元官网网址�
The scope of IsraelB次元官网网址檚 round-up remains unclear. As many as 10,000 deported Palestinians crossed back into Gaza Friday, said Wael Abu Omar, the spokesperson of GazaB次元官网网址檚 border crossings. Relieved families showered them with kisses at the Kerem Shalom border crossing in southern Gaza. The Israeli Prime MinisterB次元官网网址檚 Office and Defense Ministry declined to provide an exact figure.
Because workers came in and out of Israel, it was not known how many laborers were in the country at the time of the attack. Some of the returnees speculated that others are still in detention or hiding from Israeli security forces.
IsraelB次元官网网址檚 Justice Ministry did not respond to a request for comment. COGAT, the Israeli defense body that handles civilian affairs, including the workersB次元官网网址� permits, declined to comment. But Israeli officials confirmed to The Associated Press that thousands of workers were in Israel at the time of the Hamas attack and that a number of them had been detained.
The officials, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss a classified security issue, said there were no indications at this point that the workers had any role assisting Hamas in its onslaught.
The rights groups described a near-total blackout by Israel on the conditions and locations of the laborers.
B次元官网网址淭his situation is unprecedented, both in the scope of the arrests and in the lack of transparency,B次元官网网址� said Jessica Montell, executive director of HaMoked, an Israeli group that provides legal aid for Palestinians. B次元官网网址淲here are these people being held? On what legal grounds? We are waging a legal battle just to get answers to these very basic questions.B次元官网网址�
Palestinian workers who were rounded up said Israeli soldiers confiscated their money and cellphones. On Friday, they said they never got their belongings back.
B次元官网网址淭hey sent us back home with nothing,B次元官网网址� said al-Sajda. B次元官网网址淣othing.B次元官网网址�
Tia Goldenberg And Isabel Debre, The Associated Press
