The propaganda horror of hostages

The Zionist state of Israel has illegally imprisoned thousands of men, women and chidren, often in the most appalling conditions, for many years. That is a simple, largely ignored reality that deeply concerned me when the term “hostage” was weaponised after October 7 and disseminated as such by much of the global media. Because a hostage is, simply, any person seized or held illegally as security in the hope of gaining an advantage.

However, in the popular, media promoted mind, hostages are innocent individuals who have been kidnapped, usually by murderous thugs demanding ransoms. “Prisoners” or “captives” are an entirely different matter. Especially from a journalistic viewpoint, the distinction is important, as is the detail in any such situation.

But, in the context of Israel/Palestine, “hostages” were held in Gaza while there was little — often no — mention of the thousands of Palestinian men, women and children, illegally held, sometimes for years, in Israeli prisons without charge or trial. When they are mentioned, they are “prisoners”, not “detainees” (ie: those held without trial), let alone hostages.

For the historical record: in 1963, when the apartheid government introduced 90-day detention without trial, there was a global media backlash. However, this went on to became 180 days without trial and, finally — as applies in Israel — indefinite detention without trial for anyone the state decreed “undesirable”. A global media that once, 60 years ago, expressed horror at such developments, now seems, at least, accepting of it.

And around the world today there are many individuals held by repressive regimes without charge or trial. These are usually referred to as “prisoners of conscience”, whether detained for their political or religious convictions. They are taken illegally by force and held perhaps also to threaten their supporters or merely to silence them. This amounts to kidnap and a hostage situation, exactly what many Palestinians have lived with for decades.

Almost inevitably, when reports of “hostage/prisoner” releases emerge in the mainstream media, these include reference to the release prisoners “including convicted murderers and terrorists”. This is not journalism. It is propaganda. It would, however, be correct to mention that several (how many?) of the released prisoners were convicted for murder and terrorism as members of the armed resistance.

Much has also been made of the conditions under which the “Israeli hostages” lived — conditions largely dictated by the massive bombardments of Gaza by the Zionist state. But only now has some detail of the clearly detailed atrocities committed by the Zionist security and prison establishment emerged in mainstream media. Yet the evidence has been available for years.

Once again, this week, Haaretz columnist Gideon Levy has done a excellent summation of this situation, under the heading:

‘ISRAEL’S GOVERNMENT PRIDES ITSELF ON SADISM, ABUSE AND TORTURE’

By Gideon Levy, Haaretz, October 23, 2025

The return of the hostages has exposed the truth that was known to all: Israel’s poor treatment of Palestinian prisoners made conditions for the Israelis held captive in Gaza worse. It is now clear that evil had its price.

Nadav Eyal reported on Wednesday in Yediot Aharonot that the Shin Bet security service had warned as early as the end of 2024 that the statements made by National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir were aggravating the already terrible conditions the hostages were suffering, and no one was concerned.

Every time Ben-Gvir boasted of the abuse he was ordering, which journalist Yossi Eli gloated over in his sadistic reports on Channel 13 about what was happening in Israeli prisons, revenge came from the tunnels.

It’s unpleasant to admit Israeli evil. But why did we need to learn first about the revenge of Palestinian kidnappers to be shocked by the wickedness of the Israeli kidnappers? What happened (and is still happening) in the Sde Teiman prison was a disgrace, irrespective of the terrible suffering it caused the hostages.

It’s a shame that the abuse of the hostages was what was needed to elicit shock over Israel’s treatment of its Palestinian prisoners, including in Wednesday’s headline of Yediot Aharonot, which until now had not been at all interested in what Israel is doing.

The British newspaper The Guardian reported this week that at least 135 mutilated and dismembered bodies were returned to Gaza. Next to each of the mutilated bodies were found notes indicating they had been held in Sde Teiman. In many of the pictures, you could see that their hands had been tied behind their backs.

Not a few showed signs of torture, including death by strangulation, from being run over by a tank and other means. It is not clear how many were killed after they had been arrested. Sde Teiman was a collection point for Palestinians killed elsewhere.

Palestinian Prisoners Club reports that about 80 Palestinian detainees were killed in prison may have understated the truth. The Guardian saw only some of the bodies and confirmed the signs of abuse, but said they could not be published because of their condition. The body of 34-year-old Mahmoud Shabat showed signs of having been hung. His legs were crushed by a tank, and his hands were tied behind his back. “Where is the world?” his mother asked.

The situation of the living Palestinians who were released is not much better. Many even had difficulty standing on their feet upon their release, a fact hardly covered in the Israeli media.

Dr. Ahmed Muhanna, the director of the Al-Awda Hospital in Jabaliya, who was taken in December 2023 and released during the cease-fire, said this week that he was moved from place to place during his incarceration, including a place he said was a kennel, where soldiers abused him with fearsome dogs.
The doctor’s shrunken appearance left no room for doubt about the conditions of his imprisonment. Israel is holding 19 other doctors from Gaza under similar conditions.

We should recall the conditions under which Adolf Eichmann was held. No one physically abused him before he was executed by court order.

Israel was proud of the conditions of his detention then. Today, the government prides itself on sadism, abuse and torture. It does so because it knows the souls of its citizens. The majority of Israelis are vengeful and approve of the abuse.
Except for organizations like Doctors Without Borders, B’Tselem and the Committee Against Torture, almost no one came out against what was happening. For Nukhba terrorists, everything is permissible.

The definition of who counts as one includes any and all who dared to enter Israel on October 7. Journalist Ben Caspit said this week that all Nukhba fighters should be executed. It seems that the Shin Bet, the Israel Prison Service and the Israel Defense Forces have already begun the work in earnest.

Israel’s only concern is the harm that was done to the hostages. Everything else is forgiven. In many cases, we even get excited, cherish and appreciate the abuse. We wanted sadism; we got sadism.