Israel has released 54 Palestinian prisoners it held in detention during its war in Gaza, including the director of the enclave's Al-Shifa Hospital, Mohammad Abu Selmeyah.
Shortly after his release, Mr Abu Selmeyah told a press conference in Khan Younis that detainees had been abused during their detention, deprived of food and medicine and some had died.
"We were subjected to severe torture, and my little finger was broken. I was repeatedly subjected to hitting on the head, causing bleeding multiple times," Mr Abu Selmeyah said.
Israeli officials have not immediately commented on allegations of mistreatment but have previously denied similar allegations, according to Reuters.
Mr Abu Selmeyah said the captives were severely underfed while in custody, surviving on a loaf of bread per day for two months. All of them lost at least 30 kilograms, he added.
"We left behind many prisoners, tens of thousands of prisoners, living in hardship, experiencing psychological and physical torture that no Palestinian prisoner has experienced since the Nakba in 1948."
The Nakba, which means "catastrophe" in Arabic, refers to the mass displacement and dispossession of Palestinians during the 1948 Arab-Israeli war.
While the exact number of prisoners is unknown, according to The Israeli Information Centre for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories, B'Tselem, the Israel Prison Service (IPS) said it was holding 8,611 Palestinians in detention, including 1,141 from the Gaza Strip, at the end of March 2024.
At the end of 2020, the IPS adopted a new policy and stopped providing B'Tselem with the requested figures.
Israel's Shin Bet intelligence agency said it had decided on the release with the Israeli military "to free up places in detention centres".
The agency said it "opposed the release of terrorists" who had taken part in attacks on Israeli civilians "so it was decided to free several Gaza detainees who represent a lesser danger".
The medical chief was freed after seven months in custody, and said no charge had been laid against him.
Emotional returns
There were emotional reunions for many prisoners crossing back into Gaza, and seeing their families after months in detention.
Meanwhile, five detainees were admitted to Al-Aqsa Hospital at Deir al-Balah and the others were sent to hospitals in Khan Younis, according to Agence France-Presse.
The World Health Organization (WHO) expressed concern after Mr Abu Selmeyah was arrested by Israel's Defense Forces (IDF) during raids on the medical facility in November.
Israel accused Hamas of using hospitals, including Al-Shifa, as a cover for military operations, which both Hamas and Mr Abu Selmeyah denied.
The Israeli military previously released the hospital's CCTV footage from the October 7 attack, which showed gunmen and hostages on the premises.
Al-Shifa Hospital was among more than 100 health facilities Israel has raided during the nine-month war, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
Concerns over Israel's Detention of Unlawful Combatants Law
Mr Abu Selmeyah was held under Israel's Detention of Unlawful Combatants (UCL) Law, which is a form of administrative detention implemented in 2002 that allows an "unlawful combatant" to be held for extended periods without charge and without being classified as a prisoner of war.
Under the law, an unlawful combatant is considered a person who has participated either directly or indirectly in hostile acts against the State of Israel.
The UCL permits an unlawful combatant to be jailed for up to 45 days without a detention order, up to 75 days without seeing a judge, and up to six months without legal counsel.
In response to the Hamas October 7 attack, Israel's Parliament passed an amendment to the UCL adopting a temporary measure to allow Israel Defense Forces (IDF) chief of staff to issue a detention order under "reasonable grounds to believe that an inmate is an unlawful combatant and that their release would harm state security".
But this can only be issued after the inmate has been given an opportunity to voice their arguments and before an officer with the rank of lieutenant colonel or higher.
Human Rights Watch has long declared the law in breach of basic human rights, criticising the IDF's judgment on who it considered to be an unlawful combatant.
HRW said under the UCL it is presumed the captive is harmful to the state without proof, which in turn puts pressure on the detainee to prove that they are not a threat, instead of placing the burden of proof on the state authorities, as international human rights law requires.
The secrecy of the evidence makes it virtually impossible for the detainee to meaningfully challenge the allegations, HRW added.
On Monday, HRW accused Israeli authorities of the detainment and mistreatment of thousands of Palestinians, citing persistent reports of torture.
In May, Israel said it was investigating the deaths of Palestinians captured during the war as well as a military-run detention camp where released detainees and rights groups have alleged abuse of inmates, according to Reuters.
HRW claimed all victims have the right to reparation for abuses under international law.
"The parties to the conflict need to repair the harm they have caused to victims in the ongoing hostilities," Clive Baldwin, senior legal adviser at Human Rights Watch said.
"Governments supporting Israel and Palestinian armed groups should not only use their leverage to stop further abuses, but also to ensure that victims and survivors receive meaningful reparations."
The current war started after Hamas' October 7 attack which resulted in the deaths of 1,195 people, mostly civilians, according to Israeli figures.
Israel's offensive in Gaza has killed at least 37,900 people, mostly civilians, according to data from Gaza's Hamas health ministry.
