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Based on data released by Israel, a minimum of 98 detainees from Palestine have perished while in custody starting from October 2023. An advocacy organization operating from Israel has stated that the actual number is probably significantly larger, because of hundreds of missing people in Gaza.

Report Findings

A new investigation recorded fatalities caused by brutality, failure to provide medical care, and malnutrition. Analysts utilized freedom of information requests, medical examiner documents, and interviews with attorneys, human rights defenders, next of kin, and eyewitnesses.

Israeli authorities released detailed statistics solely covering the opening period of the conflict. Over this period, government statistics reveal an historically high death toll among Palestinian prisoners, equating to a life lost once every four-day period.

Updated Statistics

The military last updated data on detention fatalities for May 2024, and correctional authorities during September 2024. Analysts identified an additional 35 deaths in detention subsequent to these periods and validated them with Israeli authorities.

Despite the aggregate figure of fatalities charted being much greater than earlier projections, it almost certainly does not reflect the entire scope of losses among Palestinians, as stated by the director of the prisoners and detainees department.

“While we are offering documentation for a larger total of fatalities than previously reported, this is not the entire story,” he said. “We are confident that there are even now people who perished in confinement that we have not identified.”

Non-Combatant Fatalities

Classified government records suggests that the largest portion of Palestinian prisoners from Gaza who lost their lives in prison were civilians, according to a related inquiry.

In May of 2024, a military intelligence database monitoring all militants in Gaza, a list of in excess of 47,000 identified persons, documented just 21 fatalities in detention. At that time, 65 individuals from Palestine from Gaza had perished in detention.

Prison Situation

Assault, mistreatment, and other abuse of Palestinians has become routine across Israel’s detention facilities during two years of conflict. Senior officials have publicly acknowledged inadequate food and an underground jail holding detainees who never see daylight.

Existing and previous inmates and whistleblowers from the defense forces have all alleged systemic violations of international law.

Systemic Abuse

The systematic abuse came with a troubling surge in deaths registered across no fewer than 12 detention centers in Israel. Over ten years before the war, there were on average two or three fatalities a year.

“This does not represent merely an isolated incident sporadically. It is systemic and it will continue,” an official commented, partly because there is a environment of near total impunity for killing and mistreating Palestinian individuals.

Merely one incident of attacking prisoners has come to trial, with the soldier given a penalty to 210 days. An attempt to try other suspects over a brutal attack including sexual violence resulted in right-wing protests and the detention of Israel’s top military lawyer, with the suspects now insisting that charges against them be withdrawn.

Lack of Accountability

“In spite of this large quantity of deaths, during 24 months no one has been arrested,” the representative stated. “There have been no indictments over any death.

“While these practices remain in effect, every Palestinian in custody faces risk, also the physically well individuals, even the juveniles who have no medical issues.”

Prominent Examples

Some deaths in custody have been widely reported, for instance a middle-aged hospital director who perished in prison after 120 days in custody.

An inmate held with the individual stated that he was brought to the yard by prison staff immediately preceding his passing, clearly wounded and exposed from the waist down. His corpse remains unreleased to Gaza.

Further inmates who perished in Israeli custody remain anonymous. Detention administrators and military gave analysts with the number of deaths in custody, and limited additional information such as the site where they lost their lives, but without the inmates’ personal details.

Documentation Problems

In 21 cases, primarily detainees from Gaza, investigators were unable to match the minimal data given by authorities to a death recorded by advocacy bodies, either through testimony from freed prisoners or reporting in the press.

The inmates’ next of kin might not have learned about their relatives’ casualties as well, as Israel has created obstacles to locate Palestinian individuals it is holding. For seven months at the outset of the conflict, the armed services would not provide to give essential data about the condition of numerous of people confined in Gaza, effectively carrying out a policy of forced disappearance, as stated by the advocacy organization.

Limited Transparency

Starting in May 2024, government bodies have established an digital correspondence for enquiries about detainees from Gaza, but this has led to just a partial and limited enhancement. Investigators noted|observed|commented on