Israeli authorities must “release” all Palestinians from the Gaza Strip who were “arbitrarily arrested” by members of the Israeli armed forces and shed light on prisoner deaths, “mass enforced disappearances” and “inhumane treatment” suffered, the non-governmental organization Amnesty International emphasized yesterday.

“All those who were arbitrarily detained must be released,” said the director of the NGO’s department responsible for the region, Heba Morajev, adding that it is “necessary” to carry out an “independent investigation” into the atrocities committed, reports Amnesty press release dated yesterday.

The day before Tuesday, the Israeli army told AFP that an investigation had begun into “deaths of terrorists in military detention centers”, without specifying either how many or the circumstances under which they died.

Amnesty says in its statement that Israeli authorities have confirmed the deaths of “at least six Palestinians” in custody.

Israel’s armed forces were heavily criticized last week when footage was released showing dozens of Palestinians arrested in the Gaza Strip in their underwear, blindfolded and handcuffed, guarded by soldiers.

The Israeli military spoke earlier in December of “500 terrorists” captured in the Gaza Strip.

The war between Israel and Hamas, now in its 76th day, was triggered by the bloody, unprecedented attack by the Palestinian Islamist movement on southern sectors of the Israeli territory, based on the Gaza Strip, on October 7.

Some 1,140 people, mostly civilians, were killed in that attack, according to an AFP tally based on official figures available from Israeli authorities, while another 250 were abducted and taken to the Gaza Strip, of whom around 100 were later released. November.

After the October 7 attack, Israel’s civil-military leadership vowed to “wipe out” Hamas and began pounding the Palestinian enclave, placing it under “total” siege, before launching large-scale ground operations from October 27.

At least 20,000 people have been killed since the Israeli bombardment began, most of them women, children and teenagers, according to Hamas’ health ministry.

Amnesty International also reiterated yesterday its appeal to Hamas and other Palestinian armed organizations to “immediately and unconditionally release all hostages”, stressing that the kidnapping of civilians is a war crime.