Family of Palestinian Prisoner Held in Israeli Jail Pleads for His Life After Three Rubber Bullets and Blows to Sensitive Areas

The family of Palestinian prisoner Ghassan Zawahra, from the Dheisheh camp in the Bethlehem governorate, is deeply alarmed for his life after he was assaulted and injured inside Israeli occupation prisons.

According to his family and a statement by the Palestinian Prisoners Club, Zawahra and other prisoners were attacked by prison guards and he sustained severe injuries that required surgery, before the prison administration returned him to his cell despite the seriousness of his condition.

According to accounts relayed by the Prisoners Club and testimony from prisoners recently released, Zawahra has been subjected to assaults and humiliating measures since his transfer to the Negev prison last June, culminating in him being hit by three rubber bullets, which caused severe bleeding and a deterioration in his health.

The club said the occupation "attempted to kill Zawahra deliberately," a claim his family corroborates based on testimonies from former prisoners that have reached them.

Umm Bassam Zawahra, the mother of prisoner Ghassan, says her greatest fear is receiving news of his death inside the prison, in light of information reaching her and relayed by released prisoners, as well as a statement obtained by the Prisoners Club from her son, amid her inability to communicate with him directly.

She explains that Ghassan had been held in "Jalameh-Rimon" prison and placed in solitary confinement for five days, before being transferred to the Negev prison on 8 June.

According to what the family relayed, upon his arrival he was subjected to harsh and humiliating search procedures, forced to remove his clothes and perform squatting movements, before being beaten in sensitive areas of his body, causing him severe pain and swelling, amid a delay in transferring him to the clinic.

According to Zawahra's statement relayed by the Prisoners Club, he demanded to be transferred for treatment after the first injury, but waited several days before being taken to the prison clinic, where an examination revealed acute inflammation of his reproductive system and a high blood count in his urine, and he received medication that did not stop his suffering.

On 17 June, the Israeli repression unit "Massada" raided the prisoners' section and began firing rubber bullets, according to Zawahra's statement, and he was hit by three bullets; the first in the upper thigh, the second behind the knee, while the third injury caused wounds and severe bleeding.

The statement indicates that Zawahra fell in the prison yard, lost the ability to move and suffered severe bleeding, before being transferred to the prison clinic and then to Soroka hospital, where he underwent examinations.

According to what the Prisoners Club relayed, doctors told Zawahra that the cut-off of blood flow had caused a serious problem in the reproductive system area, and surgery he underwent ended with the removal of the affected part, before he was returned to prison less than 24 hours after being in hospital, where during his transfer back to prison he was beaten and humiliated without regard for his health condition.

The prisoner's family demands his release so that he can receive the necessary treatment, especially as he has now become wheelchair-bound.

Ghassan Zawahra is a former prisoner who spent 17 years in Israeli occupation prisons and was re-arrested in February 2025. He is the brother of the martyr Moataz Zawahra, and is married with four children.