It's a
place the Israeli military doesn't want us to see. CNN has gained exclusive evidence of Palestinian prisoner abuse from multiple Israeli whistleblowers. At the Sede Teman facility in southern Israel. We joined human rights activists amid growing public concern for the detainees being held inside. This is a protest by Israeli citizens outside a detention center close to Gaza, where we know hundreds of Palestinians have been held. You can see it's a closed military facility. It's behind the barbed wire fence. We're not permitted access, and there's hostility from passers by. We just had somebody drive past in a car and they shouted out to us in Hebrew, you're defending murderers. No defending. What do you feel? We're defending basic human rights. And eyewitnesses are now speaking out. Way from the military facility near the beaches of Tel Aviv. One young Israeli army reservist agreed to speak about scores of detainees at city to man, he says are kept in cages or pens, constantly shackled and blindfolded, many for weeks on end. We've hidden his identity and voice to shield him from prosecution. We were told they are not allowed to move and must sit upright. They're not allowed to talk or peek under their blindfolds. And what happened if they if they did do that? What kind of punishments were meted out? We were allowed to pick out problematic people and punish them. Having them stand with their hands above their heads for an unlimited time. If they didn't keep their hands up, we could zip tie them to the fence. These really military says detainees are handcuffed based on their risk level and health status, but the account tallies with photographic evidence obtained by CNN of Palestinian detainees inside Sede Teman and with hand and wrist injuries shown to CNN by dozens of Palestinians released back into Gaza. I was zip tied and blindfolded, says this former detainee, and tortured in a way I never imagined. One source telling us the restraints were so tight that to amputate a man's hand. The view that I've heard expressed is that, you know, how do you think Israeli hostages are treated by Hamas? This sentiment was voiced in the facility. But I think that if Hamas is so abominable, which I agree with, then why use Hamas as a bar? It's a descent into dehumanization. A descent that's accelerated since the rampage by Hamas on October the 7th last year. The killing, an abduction to Gaza of hundreds of Israelis, provoked outrage and a brutal response made Israel's wrath. Tens of thousands of Palestinians have been killed. And thousands detained for interrogation. Transported to facilities like Sede Teman where one Israeli guard tells CNN prisoners are routinely beaten. We've hidden his identity and voice, too. You can take them out and hit them maybe 4 or 5 times with a club. It's not done in the face so you don't see blood. The detainees lie belly down, being hit and kicked, people screaming and dogs barking at them. It's terrifying. Some detainees are taken away and beaten really hard. So bones and teeth are broken. So you saw people who were subject to these beatings, had their bones broken, and you had their teeth broken. Yes. It's a practice which commanders know about. They want intelligence, but they also want revenge and punishment for what happened on October 7th. The Israeli military hasn't approved CNN's requests for access to Sede Teman the gates of the facility. We challenged the Israeli guards. This is a facility. As we leave, masked soldiers approach. in the property of, of the army. they tried to take our cameras. Then order us to leave. Well, we're driving now to meet one Israeli with personal experience of this. A day time and facility. It's experience that he says has left him shocked at the condition and the medical treatment of Palestinian detainees that he told us he treated Palestinian detainees with gunshot wounds fresh from the war zone in Gaza, but was appalled at the lack of equipment and expertise. The problem is Gazans who are brought in are labeled as terrorists, and it is very popular opinion over here that terrorists deserve to die. So they do not deserve the same medical care as everyone else. Satellite imagery obtained by CNN shows how the Sede Teman facility was expanded after the October 7th attacks, with detention facilities and makeshift medical bays being added after public hospitals in Israel refused to treat injured guards and suspects. Eyewitness accounts describe a field hospital with 15 to 20 patients, virtually naked and blindfolded, with hands and feet shackled to their beds and wearing diapers. What eye witness told CNN painful procedures were carried out by underqualified medics. Treatment, the medical worker told us, amounts to punishment. In my view, it's the idea of total vulnerability. If you imagine being unable to move, being unable to see what's going on. That's something that borders, if not crosses into psychological torture. The Israeli military says prisoners are stripped for security checks, and that investigations are opened when there's suspicion of misconduct. Still, the counts from Israelis and Palestinians inside, and the shocking images paint a disturbing picture. Matthew Chance, CNN at Sede Teman in southern Israel.
