🔗 Share this article

Based on figures provided by Israel, at least 98 detainees from Palestine have perished during detention since October 2023. A rights monitoring body located in Israel has stated that the true figure is likely substantially greater, due to many of disappeared people originating in Gaza.

Investigation Outcomes

A new investigation recorded fatalities resulting from assault, medical neglect, and starvation. Investigators utilized freedom of information requests, forensic reports, and discussions with lawyers, advocates, family members, and observers.

Government bodies released detailed statistics only for the opening period of the war. During this time, official figures indicate an historically high fatality rate among Palestinian prisoners, amounting to one death each 96 hours.

Latest Data

Official armed forces last updated information on detention fatalities for May 2024, and the prison service by September 2024. Investigators documented an additional 35 casualties in detention after these dates and validated them with Israeli authorities.

Although the overall count of deaths recorded being significantly higher than previous assessments, it likely does not reflect the entire scope of Palestinian casualties, according to the leader of the prisoners and detainees department.

“While we are offering documentation for a larger total of fatalities than earlier indicated, this is an incomplete account,” he said. “We are sure that there are yet individuals who perished in custody that we have not identified.”

Civilian Casualties

Confidential Israeli data suggests that the majority of Palestinian detainees from Gaza who perished in detention were non-combatants, according to a parallel inquiry.

During May of the current year, a defense forces registry monitoring all militants in Gaza, a registry of in excess of 47,000 listed people, documented just 21 casualties in custody. By that date, 65 Palestinians from Gaza had lost their lives in detention.

Prison Situation

Brutality, torture, and additional maltreatment of detainees from Palestine is now standard practice across Israel’s prison network throughout 24 months of conflict. Senior officials have openly admitted starvation rations and an below-ground detention center holding detainees who are kept in darkness.

Existing and previous inmates and insiders from the armed services have all alleged routine infractions of international law.

Organized Maltreatment

The organized mistreatment was accompanied by a alarming increase in deaths recorded across at least 12 prison sites in Israel. Over ten years before the hostilities, there were on average two or three casualties a year.

“This does not represent just an individual case here and there. It is systemic and it will continue,” an official commented, partly since there is a climate of near total impunity for killing and mistreating Palestinians.

Merely one incident of beating detainees has reached litigation, with the military personnel sentenced to seven months. An attempt to charge other suspects over a vicious assault featuring sexual violence caused political demonstrations and the apprehension of Israel’s chief legal officer, with the alleged perpetrators now demanding that indictments against them be dismissed.

Lack of Accountability

“In spite of this significant total of casualties, during 24 months not one individual has faced arrest,” the representative stated. “There are no indictments over any killing.

“As long as these measures continue to be enforced, all Palestinian detainees in custody is in danger, including the those in good health, even the young ones who have no underlying conditions.”

High-Profile Cases

Certain fatalities in confinement have been high profile, for instance a senior medical chief who died in confinement after 120 days in custody.

A detainee held with the victim stated that he was led to the courtyard by prison staff shortly before his demise, visibly injured and exposed from the hips downward. His corpse has not been returned to Gaza.

Additional detainees who perished in Israeli custody remain anonymous. The prison service and armed services gave analysts with the total of fatalities in custody, and minimal additional information for example the site where they lost their lives, but not the inmates’ personal details.

Documentation Problems

For 21 instances, mainly detainees from Gaza, investigators were unable to correlate the limited information given by government bodies to a fatality documented by human rights groups, by means of statements from former inmates or accounts in the press.

The prisoners’ relatives might not have learned about their family members’ fatalities either, as Israel has made it difficult to locate detainees it is holding. Over half a year at the beginning of the hostilities, the armed services refused to supply basic information about the whereabouts of many of individuals held in Gaza, practically implementing a practice of unacknowledged detention, as stated by the rights monitoring body.

Insufficient Disclosure

Starting in May 2024, officials have established an electronic contact for inquiries about Palestinians from Gaza, but this has provided only a partial and limited betterment. Analysts noted|observed|commented on