Alhamdulillah - Gaza photographer reunited with his family after being told they were dead
Assalamu alaikum. KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip - Shadi Abu Sido says his world broke inside Israeli detention after guards told him his wife and two children had been killed in the war. He says he went hysterical. Alhamdulillah, when he was released under the US-mediated ceasefire deal he found out they were alive.
His wife, Hanaa Bahlul, ran down the house hallway in Khan Younis and jumped into his arms. He spun her around and held her close. He kept kissing his children’s cheeks, whispering “my love,” holding the daughter and son he thought he’d lost. “I heard her voice, I heard the voice of my children… I was astonished. They were alive. Imagine amid death - life,” he said.
Abu Sido, a photojournalist, says he was detained at Shifa hospital on March 18, 2024. He was one of about 1,700 Palestinians picked up by Israeli forces during the fighting and was released on Monday as part of a swap that saw around 250 prisoners freed in exchange for 20 Israeli hostages held since October 2023. Some details in his account could not be independently verified.
His wife says a lawyer from Addameer told her he was held under Israel’s Unlawful Combatants Law, a form of administrative detention. Human rights groups say that law lets authorities restrict access to lawyers and detain people without charge; Addameer says thousands of Gazans are held under it. The Israeli military has said its detention rules follow Israeli law and the Geneva Conventions; Israel’s Justice Ministry did not respond to requests for comment. The military also said it had raided Shifa in March, accusing Hamas of operating from parts of the hospital - claims Hamas denies.
Abu Sido describes being badly beaten, handcuffed, blindfolded and forced to kneel for long periods. He showed raw marks on his wrists he says came from shackles. He was first taken to Sde Teiman camp, then to Ofer in the occupied West Bank, and later to Ketziot prison inside Israel, his wife said. Bahlul says he was arrested for simply being a journalist at a Palestinian institution.
The Israeli Prison Service says inmates are treated according to legal procedures and denied the claims of mistreatment. The military says abuse is prohibited and that prolonged restraints are only used in exceptional security cases. Officials have said dozens of investigations are open into alleged abuse linked to the Gaza war; a small number have led to indictments.
People released from both sides have described harsh treatment in detention, and Palestinian groups say conditions for Palestinian prisoners worsened after October 7, 2023, with reports of beatings, denial of meds and food shortages.
Abu Sido called prison “the graveyard of the living.” He said returning to Gaza felt like his soul came back to his body, but seeing the destruction left him wondering how to begin again.
May Allah protect the families in Gaza and bring ease to those suffering.
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