Shadi Abu Sido, a Gaza-based Palestinian photographer, was reunited with his wife and children on Monday after enduring months in Israeli detention under the Unlawful Combatants Law, during which he allegedly suffered severe mistreatment. While in custody, Abu Sido was falsely told by guards that his wife and two children had been killed in the Gaza war, a claim that left him hysterical. His release came as part of a US-mediated ceasefire deal between Hamas and Israel, which ended two years of conflict. Upon returning home to Khan Younis, he embraced his wife, Hanaa Bahlul, and children, expressing disbelief and relief that they had survived.
Abu Sido was detained at Shifa hospital in northern Gaza on March 18, 2024, and became one of 1,700 Palestinians held by Israeli forces during the war. He was released along with 250 prisoners convicted or suspected of involvement in deadly attacks in exchange for 20 Israeli hostages held by Hamas since its October 2023 cross-border assault. His detention was reportedly under Israel’s Unlawful Combatants Law, a form of administrative detention that allows authorities to restrict access to lawyers, hold individuals without charge or trial, and detain Palestinians arbitrarily, according to human rights group Addameer. Currently, 2,673 Gazans remain detained under this law. Israel maintains that its detention policies comply with national law and the Geneva Conventions.
During his confinement, Abu Sido said he was subjected to severe physical abuse, including beatings, prolonged kneeling while handcuffed and blindfolded, and harsh restraints, which left his wrists raw. He was transferred between several detention facilities, including Sde Teiman, Ofer military camp in the West Bank, and Ketziot prison in Israel. His wife asserted that he was arrested solely for his work as a journalist for a Palestinian media organization. Israeli authorities denied claims of mistreatment, stating that prolonged restraint is used only in exceptional cases involving significant security risks and that all detainees are treated in accordance with legal standards.
Abu Sido described his detention as “a graveyard for the living,” emphasizing the psychological and physical toll of confinement. His release marked an emotional return to his family but also confronted him with the devastation in Gaza. Human rights groups and released prisoners have reported widespread abuse, including beatings, sexual assault, denial of food and medical care, and psychological trauma. Palestinian officials have noted that conditions worsened significantly following Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attack, particularly for Gazans held in military detention. Abu Sido’s ordeal highlights ongoing concerns over Israel’s detention practices and the human cost of the prolonged conflict in Gaza.
