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IDF: Hamas intensifies Gaza torture

The terror group escalated abuses against civilians following a ceasefire late last year, according to the Israeli military.

Members of the Al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of the Hamas movement, on patrol in Rafah, the southern Gaza Strip, April 27, 2020. Photo by Abed Rahim Khatib/Flash90.
Members of Hamas’s Al-Qassam Brigades in Rafah in the southern part of the Gaza Strip, April 27, 2020. Photo by Abed Rahim Khatib/Flash90.

The Hamas terror group has escalated its interrogation and torture of civilians in the Gaza Strip since the October 2025 ceasefire, in a desperate bid to bolster its standing, the Israel Defense Forces’ Arabic-language spokesperson said on Wednesday.

A joint intelligence assessment by the IDF and the Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) identified a surge in arbitrary arrests and severe violence targeting all segments of the population, including women and minors, according to an X post by Lt. Col. Ella Waweya.

Hamas operates out of civilian infrastructure—including hospitals, schools, mosques and government buildings—to systematically abuse ordinary residents and political opponents alike, Waweya noted. The terror group’s methods include extreme physical violence, extortion, prolonged isolation and psychological threats, she added.

“The terrorist organization that led the Gaza Strip to destruction and devastation continues to sow destruction and harm you, the residents,” Waweya said in the appeal directed at Gazans.

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