Thousands of Palestinians from Gaza who work in Israel disappeared after Oct 7th. On October 10th, Israel’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories, also known as COGAT, unilaterally revoked all the work permits it had previously granted to Gaza workers, abruptly turning them into “illegal aliens.” According to reports, Israel illegally imprisoned and tortured them before releasing them back into Gaza on November 3rd. Israel permits a small number of Palestinian workers from Gaza to enter Israel each day to do dangerous, low-wage work. Palestinians from Gaza endure these conditions to provide for their families. “I wanted to die,” said one Palestinian worker who Israel tortured and released. He says Israeli soldiers beat him and others in a dark room, and deprived them of food, water, and medication. The host of this podcast, Diana Buttu, breaks it all down. Correction: 3,000 went back to Gaza, not 7,000.
Note the conversation of this podcast was recorded before the developments of November 3rd.
The term '48' refers to the Palestinian territories before the creation of Israel, specifically the areas that became part of Israel following the Nakba in 1948.