A recently freed Palestinian detainee has delivered devastating testimony detailing what he calls “a hell beneath the ground” inside Israel’s underground Rakevet Detention Center in Ramla, where Gaza prisoners are allegedly tortured, starved, and subjected to systematic dehumanization.

A harrowing account from a former detainee, identified only as M.N., has surfaced, shedding light on the severe conditions faced by prisoners. This narrative, released by the Prisoners’ Media Office and disseminated by DropSite News, details M.N.’s journey through “layers of torment” from the Nitzarim checkpoint to Ofer Prison, and ultimately to the isolation unit known as Rakevet.

“Words must leave their hiding place and reach the ears of living consciences,” M.N. urged, emphasizing the need for awareness to help preserve the lives of those still imprisoned under such harsh conditions.

The “Trap Crossing” and Arrest

M.N.’s ordeal reportedly began on November 16, 2023, at what he referred to as “the trap crossing,” otherwise known as the Nitzarim safe passage. He described the treatment he received as degrading, recounting how detainees were blindfolded, shackled, and forced into kneeling positions for extended periods without permission to speak or move.

“The manner in which we were transported from Nitzarim to the barracks in Gaza was humiliating, something not even fit for animals,” he recounted. “The young men endured blindfolding and shackling of their hands and feet, compelled to sit on their knees and prohibited from speaking or moving.”

Inside Ofer Prison

Once at Ofer Prison, M.N. claimed his interrogation spanned roughly a month and a half, characterized by relentless psychological and physical abuse. He further alleged that detainees from Gaza were subjected to varying degrees of suffering, organized into tiers.

“Section 23 was for new detainees. They were treated brutally — curses and beatings three times a day, causing bleeding and injuries without medical care,” he said. “Section 10, the isolation ward, had five small rooms meant for two or three, but during the war they crammed about thirty detainees — eight per room barely three meters wide including the toilet.”

Prisoners were allegedly chained together by their feet for nearly 20 hours a day, permitted to sleep just four hours on “rotten, wet mattresses.” M.N. said the walls were black with mold, the air suffocating, and that even the limited water supply was contaminated.

The Rakevet Detention Center: “A Hell Beneath the Ground”

M.N. called Ofer “only a station of hell leading to what was even worse.” On September 10, 2024, he said, he was among dozens transferred to the newly opened Rakevet section, a fortified isolation unit buried beneath the larger Nitzan Prison in Ramla.

“Our arrival was like an epic of pain — bleeding, wounds, fractures, torture beyond description,” he said. “The suffering continued with humiliation, beatings, deprivation of food and sleep.”

Cells measured 3 by 2 meters, built for two prisoners but often housing four, he explained. “From four in the morning until midnight the mattresses were taken away, and we were forced to sit on rough flooring designed to torture us.”

He described the so-called “recreation time” as a cruel mockery: “It was a room a little larger than the cell, without sun, air, or light. We stayed there handcuffed. We were forbidden to pray in congregation or alone, forbidden to read the Qur’an or even to pray silently.”

Medical Neglect and Torture

According to M.N., no significant medical care exists within Rakevet. “When someone’s condition worsens, the doctor comes only after a long delay, and even then offers no treatment,” he said. Diseases such as skin fungi and scabies spread unchecked. Detainees were frequently gassed, beaten, or forced to curse their faith and families, even the elderly among them.

“They sprayed pepper gas inside the rooms whenever they wished, regardless of those with respiratory disease or chronic illness,” he said. “I hope these scenes of torment reach living consciences — to save the shackled bodies inside Rakevet and demand an end to their suffering.”

Systematic Torture and Isolation

His account adds to mounting evidence gathered by independent rights organizations. Reports from TRT World, The New Arab, and the Palestinian Prisoner’s Society corroborate accounts of underground torture facilities at Ramla’s Rakevet section, where detainees are monitored 24/7, denied sunlight, and barred from legal counsel or contact with their families. Israeli media itself has described the Rakevet facility as a “concrete vault” built for total isolation.

The Palestinian Prisoners’ Society said detainees are kept “in total isolation, completely cut off from the world,” while legal advocates told TRT that lawyers visiting Ramla saw prisoners “visibly shaken, some unable to speak due to trauma.”

“Living Tombs”

The testimonies from Rakevet contribute to what rights groups now describe as one of Israel’s gravest humanitarian crises since the Gaza war began. M.N.’s final plea was to “living consciences” beyond the walls.

“I hope what I’ve seen becomes impossible to deny,” he said. “Rakevet isn’t a prison — it’s a tomb for the living.”