Three Israel Defense Forces reservists have been summoned for questioning amid suspicion that they abused Hamas detainees who were under their charge, a report said on Monday.
The IDF, responding to the report by the Ynet news site, confirmed in a statement that an investigation was opened “several months ago” following “a suspicion of violence against detainees,” but said it cannot give further details on an ongoing investigation.
The reservists served at a detention facility next to the Pilon military base in the Upper Galilee, according to Ynet.
Among the detainees they are suspected of abuse are members of Hamas’s Nukhba Force, which led the terror group’s October 7, 2023, rampage in southern Israel.
The summonses — to appear within 48 hours — came after a month-long, confidential investigation by the military police, according to the report.
One soldier has already given her account of events to interrogators.
The investigation, which is being followed by the military prosecutor, may result in arrests and detentions of additional soldiers, the report said.
The military has already investigated other soldiers for alleged abuse against Palestinian inmates amid the ongoing war against Hamas in Gaza, even indicting five reservists in February for severely abusing a Palestinian detainee at the Sde Teiman detention facility in the summer of 2024.
The high-profile investigation into that alleged abuse sparked outrage among coalition politicians, government ministers and right-wing activists, who stormed several detention facilities when the reservists were first arrested.
Following those arrests and subsequent legal pressure from the High Court, the government reduced the use of restraints at Sde Teiman and confirmed that it was providing food and medical treatment in accordance with the law.
In April, a report by the BBC detailed allegations by released Palestinian detainees — most of whom had been held at Sde Teiman — who said they were tortured and denied medical care while in Israeli custody. Doctors in Gaza confirmed some of the claims, according to the British broadcaster.
The IDF has repeatedly denied any systematic abuse of detainees, and says it operates in accordance with international law and respects prisoners’ rights; the military has said that when soldiers are suspected to have mistreated an inmate, they are investigated and, if there is evidence to warrant charges, prosecuted.