Sde Teiman—initially a military logistics base—was converted after the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack into a holding and interrogation center for Palestinians from Gaza.

Since then, the site has become synonymous with allegations of systemic mistreatment and deaths in custody, drawing comparisons to “the Israeli Guantanamo.”

Abuse Claims and Casualties

Human-rights groups and Israeli whistleblowers have reported severe abuses at Sde Teiman since late 2023, including beatings, electric shocks, rape and prolonged shackling that in some cases led to amputations.

Up to 35 detainees are believed to have died at or near the site. Medical neglect and forced standing for hours were described by former inmates as routine, while footage later confirmed instances of blindfolding and the use of diapers on restrained prisoners.

Israel’s High Court of Justice declined to shut the facility in September 2024 but ordered conditions improved and detainee numbers reduced.

“Serious Affair,” Says Defense Minister

The scandal’s flashpoint came on July 5, 2024, when five reservists from Force 100 allegedly assaulted a blindfolded detainee from Hamas’s Nukhba unit.

Channel 12 reported that surveillance video—later aired on August 6—showed soldiers raping the man for 15 minutes behind riot shields.

Injuries cited in court filings included broken ribs, a punctured lung, and a torn rectum.

A military police raid on July 29 led to nine arrests and mass right-wing protests outside the base.

Demonstrators, including Knesset members from the Religious Zionism, Otzma Yehudit, and Likud parties, accused prosecutors of betraying soldiers “defending the nation.”

Leak Investigation Takes Center Stage

In February 2025, prosecutors indicted five reservists—two of them officers—for aggravated assault, dropping an initial sodomy count for lack of evidence.

Yet in late October 2025, the Attorney General ordered a new criminal probe, not into the abuse but into the leak itself.

The inquiry focuses on whether officials inside the Military Advocate General’s office, including Maj. Gen. Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi, helped Channel 12 obtain the footage.

Tomer-Yerushalmi took indefinite leave while civilian police—not military investigators—handle the case.

Political Backlash and Public Furor

Defense Minister Israel Katz called the leak a “serious affair” amounting to a “blood libel.”

National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir praised the investigation as “defending democracy” and accused Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara of obstruction.

Justice Minister Yariv Levin linked the affair to Knesset efforts to curb prosecutorial powers. Lawmakers Zvi Sukkot and Nissim Vaturi urged that Tomer-Yerushalmi be prosecuted, while coalition colleagues echoed claims of defamation against the IDF.

Critics countered that the state was punishing whistleblowers instead of addressing torture and deaths in custody.

U.S. Angle and International Implications

Separately, the U.S. State Department launched a Leahy Law review of Force 100 in October 2024, examining whether its actions breached human-rights conditions for U.S. aid.

If confirmed, funding restrictions could follow—an uncommon sanction for an Israeli unit.

Legal And Institutional Fallout

Within Israel, the affair has exposed rifts between civilian prosecutors, the IDF command, and the government.

The High Court petition that first targeted Sde Teiman remains pending, while the five indicted reservists await trial.

One separate soldier has already served a seven-month sentence for unrelated abuse at the camp.

As the leak inquiry expands, rights advocates warn that shifting attention from documented violence to internal secrecy risks eroding faith in Israel’s rule-of-law institutions.