The United Nations Committee Against Torture (UN CAT) published its findings on the Israeli government’s abuses against Palestinian detainees, calling the independent findings “war crimes, crimes against humanity, and [part of] the actus reus of genocide.” The report examines Israel’s compliance with the Convention Against Torture, focusing on the period leading up to November 2025, with particular attention to developments since October 7, 2023.
The non-profit, Physicians for Human Rights Israel (PHRI) summarized the key findings in the UNCAT report.
- Deliberate policy of collective punishment
- Overcrowding, lack of food and water, medical negligence, and malpractice
- Widespread torture including sexual and gender-based violence
- Electrocution, beating, dog attacks, sexual violence, surgery performed without anesthesia
- Abnormally high amount of deaths in custody
Key Findings
Scope and Context The Committee condemns the Hamas attacks of October 7, 2023, while expressing grave concern over Israel’s disproportionate response. The report addresses practices both within Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory, though Israel disputes the Convention’s applicability outside its territory.
Major Areas of Concern
Detention Practices
- Widespread use of administrative detention without charge, renewable indefinitely
- Incommunicado detention amounting to enforced disappearance under the Unlawful Combatants Law
- At least 75 Palestinian deaths in custody since October 2023
- Severe overcrowding and deteriorating conditions across detention facilities
Alleged Torture and Ill-treatment
The Committee reports allegations of systematic practices including severe beatings, sexual violence, electrocution, waterboarding, medical neglect, forced stress positions, and deprivation of food, water, and medical care. These practices allegedly intensified dramatically after October 7, 2023.
Legal Safeguards
- Denial of fundamental rights including timely access to lawyers, family contact, and judicial review
- Children arrested during night raids, subjected to solitary confinement, with new laws permitting life imprisonment for 12-year-olds
- Evidence obtained through “special means” admitted in courts
Conditions of Detention
- Deliberate policy of collective punishment affecting material conditions
- Security prisoners held in cells 23 hours daily without adequate hygiene, food, or medical care
- Denial of family visits and restricted phone access
- Women denied feminine hygiene products and maternal care
- Persons with disabilities left without mobility aids or medication
Specific Recommendations
The Committee urges Israel to:
- Criminalize torture as a distinct offense with appropriate penalties
- End incommunicado detention and enforced disappearances immediately
- Restore fundamental legal safeguards from the moment of arrest
- Allow International Red Cross access to all detention facilities
- Investigate all allegations through independent bodies
- Facilitate humanitarian aid entry into Gaza
- Cease settlement activities and prevent settler violence
- Establish an independent national human rights institution
The report characterizes certain practices as potentially constituting war crimes, crimes against humanity, and contributing to genocide, based on findings from other UN bodies.
