The Israeli military on Thursday released 10 Palestinian teenage boys who had been detained for nearly a month after being arrested near the al-Shakoush aid distribution site in northwest Rafah – an area previously designated as a “safe corridor” for humanitarian relief in southern Gaza.
The International Committee of the Red Cross transferred the boys to Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, where an Anadolu Agency (AA) reporter documented visible signs of physical abuse and severe exhaustion.
According to eyewitness accounts, the teens were detained while trying to collect humanitarian aid.
“They beat us constantly,” said Karam Hamdi Hussein, one of the released boys. “They gave us rotten food, and we had to eat it with our hands tied. Al-Shakoush was supposed to be safe – it was a trap.”
Hussein also said a group of children is still being held in Israel's Sde Teiman prison, which has been widely reported to have abusive detention conditions.
“We spent an entire month under constant beatings and daily humiliation,” he added.
Another released teenager, identified only as Omar, was reportedly too weak to speak due to extreme fatigue, according to the AA correspondent on the scene.
The release comes amid growing reports of alleged violations by Israeli forces at aid distribution points in Gaza.
As recently as June 1, United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini warned that accessing aid in Gaza had become a “death trap,” urging Israel to lift the blockade and allow safe distribution of food under U.N. supervision.
The Israeli government has made no official comment on the teens' detention or the circumstances surrounding their release.
According to the Palestinian Health Ministry, more than 1,083 people have been killed and over 7,275 wounded while attempting to access food at aid distribution points since the war began.
Israel has killed more than 59,500 Palestinians – most of them women and children – in the Gaza Strip since October 2023. The military campaign has devastated the enclave, collapsed the health care system and caused widespread food shortages.
In November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice over its war in the enclave.
