Israel abuses detained aid workers: UNRWA chief
The head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees has issued a blistering condemnation of Israel’s treatment of humanitarian workers in Gaza, saying dozens of UNRWA staff have been detained and subjected to abuse.
Philippe Lazzarini, UNRWA chief, said he received a harrowing testimony from one colleague who told him: “I wished for death to end the nightmare I was living through.”
He said on X: “Since the start of the war in October 2023, over 50 UNRWA staff among them teachers, doctors, social workers, have been detained and abused. They have been treated in the most shocking and inhumane way.”
He said UN staff members had been “beaten up, used as human shields, subjected to sleep deprivation, humiliation, threats of harm to them and their families, and attacks by dogs”, adding that many had also been forced into making confessions.
“This is nothing short of harrowing and outrageous,” Lazzarini said. “Humanitarian workers are not a target. Their suffering must not be ignored.”
Israel frees ambulance driver detained after killing 15 rescue workers on March 23
Asaad al-Nsasrah, an ambulance driver who was arrested in Gaza’s southern Rafah city when Israeli soldiers killed 15 rescue workers on March 23, has been released, according to the Palestinian Red Crescent.
His whereabouts had been unknown for weeks. Here is the full story of what happened that night.
🚨The occupation forces have just released medic Asaad Al-Nsasrah, who was detained on March 23, 2025, while performing his humanitarian duty during the massacre of medical teams in the Tel Al-Sultan area of Rafah Governorate. The attack resulted in the killing of eight PRCS… pic.twitter.com/uWFZKXJxp6
— PRCS (@PalestineRCS) April 29, 2025
Al-Nsasrah was released through the Kissufim checkpoint with ten other detainees. They were brought to a hospital in Deir el-Balah, central Gaza, for medical checkups.
Released Gaza detainees report ‘horrific ways of torture’ in Israeli detention
The Israeli military released 10 Palestinian detainees at the Kissufim military checkpoint, which is located at the eastern end of Deir el-Balah. They were handed over to the International Committee of the Red Cross, then taken to Al-Aqsa Hospital to undergo medical checks.
Medical teams have given them the green light to leave, but they were in a very desperate physical condition. Psychologically, they were very traumatised.
They have reported horrific ways of torture that they endured in the Israeli detention camps and centres, saying the condition of Palestinian detainees and prisoners is horrific and inhumane, calling for immediate protection for them and urging people to keep praying for them.
Here are the testimonies from two of them.
- “I was detained in various Israeli detention centres for almost five months. The conditions are far beyond dire. I was not sentenced as no charges were brought against me. Conditions behind Israeli bars are really difficult … I consider myself reborn today, being united with my family and my children. I am certain my home has been destroyed. Honestly, I feel it is the first time I [have] met my children. I forgot their faces, their voices, their images. Today is the best day of my life to reunite with my family. I had no hope I would.”
- “I was detained at the Karem Abu Salem [Kerem Shalom] crossing on November 21. I was on my way back from work. I was told it was to be a short investigation, but it took them almost six months. I was placed under harsh interrogation, utter abuse. We were called out from the prison cell, our hands and legs tied, eyes blindfolded since 6am in the morning. We were detained in very dire conditions.”
