Officials from the US Agency for International Development (USAid) have been attending daily meetings to discuss humanitarian aid to Gaza at an Israeli military base where Israeli guards have allegedly tortured Palestinian detainees, according to a report on Monday by The Guardian.
Citing three USAid officials, The Guardian reported that Israel’s humanitarian relief hub, known as the joint coordination board (JCB), has been operating out of Sde Teiman since 29 July, and coordinates its logistics with the US, United Nations and “a number of international NGOs”.
An internal USAid document reviewed by the newspaper referred to “the present JCB location on Sde Teiman IDF base”, which is located near Beersheba in southern Israel.
Sources told The Guardian that two USAid officials hold daily meetings with Israeli and UN officials at Sde Teiman.
In a request for comment, USAid told Middle East Eye: “Due to security considerations, we do not comment on the specific locations of our staff.”
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Established after the 7 October Hamas-led attack on southern Israel and the subsequent war on Gaza, the Sde Teiman base became a makeshift centre to hold Palestinian detainees. Since October 2023, more than 4,000 Palestinians from Gaza have been detained by the Israeli military there, often held without charge or evidence of wrongdoing.
In April, an unnamed doctor described in harrowing detail the conditions at the facility, including limb amputation due to handcuff injuries and prisoners forced to defecate in diapers.
Further investigations by Middle East Eye, CNN and The New York Times found widespread examples of abuse at the centre.
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According to the UN, at least 27 Palestinian detainees have died in Israeli custody since the war, including at Sde Teiman. Officers at the facility told The New York Times that 35 Palestinians detained there since October 2023 had died either at the facility or after being brought to nearby hospitals.
One of the first photos leaked from the notorious army base was that of Ibrahim Salem, who previously spoke to MEE about his horrific experience in detention, which he said included rape, electrocution and frequent beatings.
“Most of the prisoners will come out with rectum injuries [caused by the sexual assault],” Salem, 36, told Middle East Eye.
Several officials within USAid have dissented from the Biden administration’s position because of its support for Israel’s war on Gaza and the administration’s inability to increase aid flow into Gaza.
Alexander Smith, a former senior advisor to the agency, resigned from his position in May after his presentation on child and maternal health in Gaza was cancelled and he was told his contract would be terminated.
“I speak for a lot of people when I say we’d like to see an end to the gaslighting and more truth-telling when it comes to Gaza, more stating facts that match the reality that we’re seeing on the ground,” Smith previously told MEE.
Smith lamented about US officials’ unwillingness to speak publicly about the situation in Gaza, and wants top Biden officials like USAid director Samantha Power to speak out about the root cause of the humanitarian crisis in Gaza: the military offensive.
