An underground detention facility in Israel has been revealed where dozens of Palestinians from Gaza are held without charge, trial, or even a glimpse of daylight. Located at the Rakefet prison complex in Ramla, this subterranean site was reopened by far‑right security minister Itamar Ben‑Gvir following the 2023 attack by Hamas. 

 

 

 

Lawyers from the Public Committee Against Torture in Israel (PCATI) have documented alarming conditions: one detainee, a nurse, had been deprived of natural light since January 2025; another, a young food seller, was held for nine months. 

The facility was originally built in the 1980s to house a few organized‑crime figures and was closed due to concerns over inhumane conditions. It now holds roughly 100 detainees in a complex designed for just 15. 

 

 

 

Reports describe windowless cells, no ventilation, mattresses removed for much of the day, tiny outdoor enclosures, starvation‑level rations, and frequent physical abuse—dogs with iron muzzles, beatings, guards stepping on prisoners. These conditions, PCATI says, amount to psychological torture aimed at civilians, not combatants. 

 

 

Despite an October 2025 ceasefire that released some detainees, at least 1,000 Palestinians remain in these conditions, according to PCATI. The Israeli Prison Service and Ministry of Justice defer inquiries to one another, providing little clarity. 

Human rights advocates warn that treatment at Rakefet violates international humanitarian law by denying detainees daylight, communication with family, and legal representation. The global community is now scrutinizing whether these practices reflect systemic policy or an extreme wartime exception.

 

Key Takeaways:

 

Palestinians from Gaza are held in a revived underground facility in Israel, without charge and without daylight.

 

Conditions include isolation, severe deprivation, and documented physical abuse—raising serious human‑rights concerns.

 

Despite a ceasefire and some releases, over a thousand detainees remain in this legal limbo, prompting calls for accountability and transparency.

 

 

Adapted From 

 

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/nov/08/israel-underground-jail-rakefet-palestinians-gaza-detainees

Israel again ignoring international law.
https://www.btselem.org/administrative_detention

The Order regarding Security Provisions includes provisions that are ostensibly meant to protect administrative detainees, in keeping with the tenets of international law on this matter, which allow the occupying power to place residents of the occupied territory under administrative detention only in rare, exceptional circumstances. This has not stopped Israel from making extensive use of this measure in the Occupied Territories. Israel routinely uses administrative detention and has, over the years, placed thousands of Palestinians behind by bars for periods ranging from several months to several years, without charging them, without telling them what they are accused of, and without disclosing the alleged evidence to them or to their lawyers. Some of the detainees were under 18 years of age.