Graphic warning: This story includes disturbing details of an alleged assault
Five Israeli reserve soldiers have been accused of the horrific abuse of a Palestinian man in jail, which left him bleeding from his anus and requiring major surgery.
An indictment filed in an Israeli military court has detailed the shocking charges against the group, in an incident which occurred at the infamous Sde Temain facility in July last year.
Israeli media had published security camera vision of the sexual assault in August.
The military jail, located in southern Israel's Negev desert, has been at the centre of a number of controversies.
The indictment outlined charges against five IDF personnel — a team commander, the commander's personal security guard, a dog handler and two "searchers".
The reservists were from the "Force 100" unit, a counter terrorism guard unit.
The indictment said another three members of the group, who have not been charged, shielded the alleged assault from view of security cameras by standing around the group armed with plastic riot shields.
Two more team members were outside at the time.
The Palestinian victim, referred to by the pseudonym S.A., had been transferred from the Ofer Prison in the West Bank near Ramallah, to Sde Temain.
S.A was being described as a "senior" member of a cohort of Palestinian detainees taken to Sde Temain in early July 2024.
One evening, the indictment said, the team commander instructed the other reservists to conduct a "routing breaking activity".
A number of Palestinian detainees were searched, including S.A.
He had been lying on a mattress, when he was picked up by the "searchers", handcuffed and blindfolded.
S.A. was pinned against the wall, with his hands above his head — but soon after, was found "writhing around on the ground in pain" with the defendants standing around him.
The indictment states that S.A. was kicked and beaten by the reservists for 15 minutes, who also tasered him in the head, while the team's dog was used to help pin him down.
Victim left bleeding from the anus after assault
At one stage, the blindfold S.A. was wearing fell off, just as he was "stabbed in the buttocks by a sharp object".
That object "penetrated near the detainee's anus, causing a tear in the wall of his rectum".
While that was happening, S.A. was ordered to take the baton of one of the reservists in his mouth.
S.A. was "screaming in pain", before the ordeal ended and he was returned to the mattresses, with his shirt pulled down to cover his buttocks.
Shortly after, he began to bleed from his anus. An hour after the assault, a report was filed saying S.A. was having trouble breathing and was experiencing a headache.
Several hours later, prison staff noticed he was bleeding and called paramedics.
S.A. was rushed to the Sde Temain medical facility, where it was discovered he had a ruptured rectum, seven fractured ribs and a punctured left lung.
He needed urgent surgery, and required a colostomy bag as a result of his injuries.
The charges against the five reservists do not include claims of sexual assault.
IDF labels it an 'exceptional incident'
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said the investigation into the reservists has been "and included medical documentation, and authentic footage extracted from the security cameras in place".
"The IDF remains committed to the rule of law and exceptional incidents are addressed accordingly," it said in a statement.
In August Israel's Channel 12 published video of the assault of Palestinians, including S.A, inside Sde Temain.
The network said S.A. had been identified as a police officer from Gaza, and that two of the IDF reservists questioned over his assault had been subjected to lie detector tests.
The two were asked whether S.A. had been sodomised, and both said no — which the polygraph machine said was not truthful.
Soon after Channel 12 published its initial report, 10 "Force 100" members were arrested. Five have now been charged.
Allegations of horrific mistreatment of Palestinians at Sde Temain are not new.
Former detainees have detailed allegations of sexual assault, beatings and torture.
In the past, the IDF had dismissed such claims and said its reservists act in accordance with international law.
