The photographs of Mujahid Bani Mufleh before and after his detention in Israel shocked many people – including himself.
“It hurts to look at photographs of the person I used to be,” said the prominent Palestinian journalist from the town of Beita, near Nablus in the occupied West Bank.
Six months in Israeli detention without charge or trial changed him forever.
The 36-year-old father of three emerged gaunt and frail, his face hollow, his eyes sunken, looking years older than when he entered prison.
Apart from diabetes, Bani Mufleh had been in good health before his arrest. But he says months of torture, physical abuse and medical neglect left his body broken.
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“My defences collapsed under the weight of torture and humiliation,” he told Middle East Eye from his hospital bed.
“They wanted you to forget who you were.”
Two days after his release on 12 January 2026, Bani Mufleh was admitted to hospital after suffering a severe brain haemorrhage followed by a stroke, which he believes was caused by the abuse he endured in Israeli custody.
Doctors performed emergency surgery, removing part of his skull to relieve pressure on his brain. He then spent two months in a coma.
He remains in hospital, facing a long and difficult recovery.
A journalist throughout his adult life, Bani Mufleh says one thought sustained him during detention: that one day he would tell the stories of the men imprisoned alongside him.
But the torture he endured, followed by months in hospital, denied him that chance.
“I never forgot that I was a journalist,” he said.
“Throughout my detention, I kept thinking that one day I would tell the stories of those who could no longer speak for themselves.
“But time never gave me that chance. Before I could write about the tortured, I suffered a stroke. And instead of writing their stories, I became the story.”
‘His body could no longer endure’
Bani Mufleh was arrested at his home in the town of Beita on 28 June 2025.
He spent more than six months in Israeli administrative detention, a policy under which Palestinians can be imprisoned without charge or trial based on secret evidence that neither detainees nor their lawyers are allowed to examine. Detention orders can be renewed indefinitely, leaving prisoners uncertain about when – or whether – they will be released.
During his detention, Bani Mufleh says he endured psychological and physical torture, prolonged starvation and medical neglect.
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Months after his release, he is still recovering. His speech is slow and deliberate, each sentence punctuated by pauses as he searches for words.
“I seem to have changed,” Mufleh said. “I can no longer speak as clearly as I once did.”
As he slowly relearned how to speak, he realised that recovering his voice also meant carrying the voice of his cellmates.
“I will never forget Samir al-Rifai, a man in his 50s,” he said. “Samir and I were taken to court together, and when we returned, we were tortured. His body could no longer endure what was done to him.
“Later, guards stormed our cell and sprayed pepper spray inside. Samir collapsed. They carried him out, and he never came back. The next thing we heard was that he had died.”
Al-Rifai was not the only prisoner whose death remains etched in Mufleh’s memory. Another was Ahmad Taza’zah, a 20-year-old detainee whose condition, he says, rapidly deteriorated after abuse in prison.
“I will never forget Ahmad Taza’zah, a young man of just 20,” Mufleh said. “During torture, they unleashed a dog on him that tore into his face. The wounds became infected, and all he needed was a course of antibiotics.
‘During torture, they unleashed a dog on him that tore into his face’
– Mujahid Bani Mufleh, Palestinian journalist
“Instead, they left him suffering for days. He began vomiting constantly. Later, they took him into the prison yard. He never returned alive.”
Despite everything, Ban Mufleh says he has never stopped thinking of himself as a journalist.
Although returning to reporting remains physically difficult, Mufleh says telling these stories has become part of his own recovery. The promise he made to the men he left behind in prison – to tell their stories – is one he is still determined to keep.
Israeli forces have arrested more than 20,000 Palestinians across the occupied West Bank and the Gaza Strip since October 2023.
Human rights groups and media reports have documented the systematic abuse of Palestinian detainees, including torture, starvation, medical neglect and sexual violence.
At least 84 identified Palestinians, including one child, have died in Israeli detention under these conditions. Rights groups say the true death toll is likely to be higher.
Slow recovery
The memories of those who died in prison are not the only ones Mufleh carries with him. Amid the violence and loss, he clung to a single image from the outside world: the face of his young son, Arab.
“In prison, I kept trying to remember my son Arab’s face so I wouldn’t be consumed by the faces of those who died behind bars. But I could remember only one image of him – crying as Israeli soldiers arrested me in our home.
“After they beat and tortured me, I looked at him while I lay on the floor. He was crying. That became the last image of him that stayed with me.”
The memories of prison have not faded. They remain inseparable from the physical and psychological scars of his detention.
His wife, Nuha al-Shurfa, says the changes are visible not only in his body, but also in the family’s daily life as they try to rebuild after his return.
“When Mujahed came home, it felt as though our family had come back to life. He returned severely weakened, having lost around 25kg during his detention,” al-Shurfa told MEE.
“Throughout his time in prison, despite being diabetic, he received no proper medical care. Seeing him improve, even little by little, gives us hope and the strength to keep going.”
She added that his condition remains fragile and he is still far from recovering. He is still unable to drink most fluids and, for more than five months, has struggled even to drink water, fearing it could worsen his condition and affect his lungs.
“We know his recovery is far from over and that he still faces many challenges every day,” al-Shurfa said.
“But having him with us again is something we are deeply grateful for, and we will stand by his side every step of the way.”
‘Life’s greatest blessings’
For his family, recovery is measured in small victories: a few more words spoken without effort, another step taken without assistance, or a day with a little less pain.
For Bani Mufleh, the experience has also transformed the way he sees the ordinary moments of everyday life.
‘I learned how a simple loaf of bread can become a dream’
– Mujahid Bani Mufleh, Palestinian journalist
“During my detention, I learned what real hunger feels like – waiting for meals that never felt enough, going to sleep with an aching stomach, and waking up with the same feeling,” he said.
“I learned how a simple loaf of bread can become a dream, and how a sip of cold water can feel like a blessing from heaven.”
His recovery, he says, brought a different lesson.
“Throughout my recovery, I learned the meaning of helplessness – when getting out of bed becomes a battle, taking a single step feels like an achievement, breathing without pain becomes a wish, and a peaceful night’s sleep turns into a distant luxury.
“Those months taught me that life’s greatest blessings are not the big things we once imagined. They are the small, everyday moments we used to live without ever noticing.”
