At Least 98 Palestinian Detainees Have Perished in Israeli Custody Since October 2023, Israeli Data Reveals

Based on information from Israel, a minimum of 98 Palestinian individuals have perished while detained beginning in October 2023. A rights monitoring body based in Israel has indicated that the true number is almost certainly significantly higher, because of hundreds of missing detainees originating in Gaza.

Study Results

A new investigation tracked casualties attributed to assault, lack of healthcare, and starvation. Investigators employed transparency petitions, medical examiner documents, and discussions with lawyers, human rights defenders, family members, and witnesses.

Official sources released detailed information only for the initial 240 days of the war. Throughout these months, official figures show an record death toll among Palestinian prisoners, equating to a life lost once every four-day period.

Recent Figures

Israeli defense forces most recently revised records on detention fatalities for May 2024, and detention administration during September 2024. Analysts documented another 35 deaths in confinement after these dates and verified them with official sources.

Although the overall count of deaths recorded being much greater than earlier projections, it probably omits the complete extent of losses among Palestinians, as stated by the leader of the prisoner monitoring division.

“Even though we are providing evidence for a greater figure of fatalities than earlier indicated, this is not a full picture,” he explained. “We are certain that there are still individuals who died in custody that we are unaware of.”

Non-Combatant Fatalities

Restricted official information shows that the vast majority of Palestinian prisoners from Gaza who lost their lives in jail were non-combatants, based on a parallel investigation.

In May of 2024, a armed services record monitoring all militants in Gaza, a registry of more than 47,000 named individuals, listed only 21 deaths in confinement. At that time, 65 Palestinians from Gaza had perished in prison.

Custodial Environment

Physical violence, torture, and additional maltreatment of Palestinian individuals has been normalised across Israel’s detention facilities throughout 24 months of hostilities. Top government figures have publicly referenced starvation rations and an subterranean prison holding Palestinians who are denied sunlight.

Existing and previous prisoners and whistleblowers from the armed services have uniformly asserted routine infractions of human rights protocols.

Systemic Abuse

The organized mistreatment occurred alongside a disturbing rise in casualties recorded across at least 12 prison sites in Israel. Over ten years before the war, there were usually several fatalities a year.

“This isn’t merely an isolated incident occasionally. It is widespread and it is likely to persist,” an official stated, partially since there is a climate of almost complete immunity for fatalities and maltreatment of Palestinian individuals.

Only a single instance of attacking inmates has reached litigation, with the soldier sentenced to seven months. An effort to prosecute additional individuals over a vicious assault involving sexual violence resulted in right-wing protests and the detention of Israel’s top military lawyer, with the accused individuals now insisting that indictments against them be dismissed.

Absence of Consequences

“Despite this large quantity of deaths, during 24 months not a single person has been arrested,” the representative noted. “There are no prosecutions over any killing.

“While these measures remain in effect, every Palestinian in custody faces risk, also the physically well individuals, including the young ones who have no health problems.”

Notable Incidents

Some deaths in detention have been high profile, such as a 50-year-old medical chief who died in prison after 120 days in confinement.

A detainee detained alongside the individual reported that he was led to the courtyard by correctional officers immediately preceding his passing, obviously hurt and exposed from the waist down. His body has not been returned to Gaza.

Further inmates who died in confinement by Israeli authorities stay unnamed. Correctional authorities and military provided investigators with the figure of deaths in custody, and basic other details for example the location where they lost their lives, but not the inmates’ personal details.

Recognition Difficulties

For 21 instances, mostly individuals from Gaza, analysts could not to connect the minimal data supplied by government bodies to a casualty recorded by advocacy bodies, by means of accounts from former inmates or reporting in the press.

The detainees’ families might not have learned about their family members’ fatalities as well, as Israel has created obstacles to monitor detainees it is holding. Over half a year at the outset of the conflict, the Israeli military declined to provide essential data about the whereabouts of numerous of persons held in Gaza, effectively enacting a approach of forced disappearance, as stated by the human rights group.

Insufficient Disclosure

Starting in May 2024, officials have provided an electronic contact for requests about Palestinian individuals from Gaza, but this has resulted in merely a incomplete and restricted improvement. Researchers noted|observed|commented on