Israel releases 10 Palestinians detained from Gaza. They say they suffered abuse

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Ten Palestinians detained from Gaza by Israeli troops were freed and returned to the territory on Thursday, saying they had suffered constant abuse while imprisoned.

Israel has detained thousands of Palestinians since it launched its military campaign in Gaza in retaliation for Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel. It has done periodic releases of detainees throughout the war, though this was the first since it restarted the war in mid-March, breaking a ceasefire with the militant Hamas group.

The 10 men, all dressed in grey sweatpants and shirts, were brought by bus to a hospital in the central Gaza town of Deir al-Balah, where they were welcomed by family members.

They had all been detained from the northern Gaza Strip during Israel’s last offensive there before the January ceasefire. They said they had been held at least part of the time in Sde Teiman, a military prison camp that has become notorious for abuses of Gaza detainees.

One of the freed men, Fayez Ayoub, looked gaunt and walked with difficulty, supported by another man.

“I swear, Dad, every moment we waited for you to be released,” his daughter Marah Ayoub told him, crying. “Every time a prisoner was released, we went to him" to ask about her father.

“Torment, torment,” he told her.

Detained by Israeli troops on Nov. 6, he said “156 days have passed with us in agony. We are tortured and in pain.” He said detainees were abused every day and had little sleep. His daughter said he was seized by Israeli troops just after being released from Kamal Adwan hospital in northern Gaza after suffering fractures in his pelvis and spine from an airstrike.

“Was this how my father was? And Is this what he has become?" she said, referring to his appearance. “He wasn’t like this.”

Another man, Hani Abu Sharif, said they were frequently beaten, stripped to their underwear, and forced to stand barefoot on stones, causing their feet to bleed. They were only allowed to shower every month or two, he said.

There was no immediate comment by the military. The army and prison authorities have said they abide by the letter of the law in the treatment of prisoners and investigate violations.

But there have been widespread reports of abuse of Palestinian detainees in military prison camps and civilian prisons, including frequent beatings and lack of medical care and food. Five soldiers have been indicted for allegedly raping a detainee with a knife at Sde Teiman.

In March, a 17-year-old Palestinian died at Megiddo Prison, a civilian-run facility, and doctors said starvation was likely the main cause of death. The Palestinian Authority says at least 61 Palestinians have died in Israeli prisons since the war began.

Thousands of Palestinians continue to be held in Israeli detention, without charge or trial. Israel says it detains those it suspects of links to Hamas and does releases as it determines they are not connected to the militants. During the two-month ceasefire, Israel released hundreds of imprisoned Palestinians in return for the release of hostages held by militants in Gaza.

Freed Palestinian prisoner Naeim Al Burai, 66, is welcomed upon arrival at al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip, after being released from an Israeli prison, Thursday, April 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Freed Palestinian prisoners upon arrival at al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip, after being released from an Israeli prison, Thursday, April 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Freed Palestinian prisoner Jamal Zuweiri, 69, center, is welcomed upon arrival at al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip, after being released from an Israeli prison, Thursday, April 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Palestinians receive humanitarian aid distributed by UNRWA, the U.N. agency helping Palestinian refugees in Jabaliya, Gaza Strip on Wednesday, April 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)

The White House and a bipartisan group of governors are pressuring the operator of the mid-Atlantic power grid to take urgent steps to boost energy supply and curb price hikes, holding a Friday event aimed at addressing a rising concern among voters about the enormous amount of power used for artificial intelligence ahead of elections later this year.

The White House said its National Energy Dominance Council and the governors of several states, including Pennsylvania, Ohio and Virginia, want to try to compel PJM Interconnection to hold a power auction for tech companies to bid on contracts to build new power plants,

The Trump administration and governors will sign a statement of principles toward that end Friday. The plan was first reported by Bloomberg.

“Ensuring the American people have reliable and affordable electricity is one of President Trump’s top priorities, and this would deliver much-needed, long-term relief to the mid-Atlantic region," said Taylor Rogers, a White House spokeswoman.

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro is expected to be at the White House, a person familiar with Shapiro’s plans said, speaking on condition of anonymity ahead of the announcement. Shapiro, a Democrat, made his participation in Friday’s event contingent on including a provision to extend a limit on wholesale electricity price increases for the region’s consumers, the person said.

But the operator of the grid won't be there. “PJM was not invited. Therefore we would not attend,” said spokesperson Jeff Shields.

It was not immediately clear whether President Donald Trump would attend the event, which was not listed on his public schedule.

Trump and the governors are under pressure to insulate consumers and businesses alike from the costs of feeding Big Tech’s energy-hungry data centers. Meanwhile, more Americans are falling behind on their electricity bills.

Consumer advocates say ratepayers in the mid-Atlantic electricity grid — which encompasses all or parts of 13 states stretching from New Jersey to Illinois, as well as Washington, D.C. — are already paying billions of dollars in higher bills to underwrite the cost to supply power to data centers, some of them built, some not.

However, they also say that the billions of dollars that consumers are paying isn’t resulting in the construction of new power plants necessary to meet the rising demand.

Pivotal contests in November will be decided by communities that are home to fast-rising electric bills or fights over who’s footing the bill for the data centers that underpin the explosion in demand for artificial intelligence. In parts of the country, data centers are coming online faster than power plants can be built and connected to the grid.

Electricity costs were a key issue in last year's elections for governor in New Jersey and Virginia, a data center hotspot, and in Georgia, where Democrats ousted two Republican incumbents for seats on the state’s utility regulatory commission. Voters in New Jersey, Virginia, California and New York City all cited economic concerns as the top issue, as Democrats and Republicans gird for a debate over affordability in the intensifying midterm battle to control Congress.

Gas and electric utilities sought or won rate increases of more that $34 billion in the first three quarters of 2025, consumer advocacy organization PowerLines reported. That was more than double the same period a year earlier.

Meta's Stanton Springs Data Center is seen Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026, in Newton County, East of Atlanta. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)