At Least 98 Palestinian Detainees Have Died in Custody Since October 2023, Statistics from Israel Shows

Per data provided by Israel, no fewer than 98 Palestinian individuals have lost their lives during detention starting from October 2023. A rights monitoring body based in Israel has stated that the true figure is likely significantly larger, as a result of numerous of unaccounted for individuals from Gaza.

Report Findings

A new investigation tracked fatalities attributed to physical violence, medical neglect, and malnutrition. Researchers employed official data requests, autopsy findings, and interviews with legal representatives, activists, relatives, and observers.

Government bodies disclosed complete data limited to the opening period of the hostilities. During this time, official figures indicate an record death toll among detained Palestinians, amounting to one death once every four-day period.

Recent Figures

Official armed forces last updated data on deaths in detention for May 2024, and correctional authorities during September 2024. Analysts identified a further 35 casualties in detention subsequent to these dates and validated them with government bodies.

Although the total number of deaths documented being substantially larger than previous assessments, it almost certainly does not reflect the full scale of Palestinian loss, as stated by the director of the prisoner monitoring division.

“Even though we are presenting proof for a larger total of fatalities than previously reported, this is not the entire story,” he stated. “We are sure that there are yet detainees who died in confinement that we don’t know about.”

Civilian Deaths

Restricted official information indicates that the largest portion of Palestinian prisoners from Gaza who perished in prison were non-combatants, per a parallel examination.

By May of the current year, a armed services record following all militants in Gaza, a list of in excess of 47,000 named individuals, documented merely 21 casualties in custody. By that date, 65 individuals from Palestine from Gaza had died in prison.

Detention Conditions

Brutality, mistreatment, and additional maltreatment of Palestinians has been normalised across Israel’s jail system throughout 24 months of hostilities. High-ranking authorities have publicly acknowledged starvation rations and an underground jail holding detainees who are denied sunlight.

Existing and previous inmates and informants from the armed services have uniformly asserted widespread breaches of human rights protocols.

Systemic Abuse

The institutionalised cruelty was accompanied by a disturbing rise in deaths registered across no fewer than 12 prison sites in Israel. In the decade prior to the war, there were usually two or three fatalities a year.

“This does not represent only a single occurrence here and there. It is widespread and it is likely to persist,” a representative stated, in part due to the fact there is a culture of near total impunity for fatalities and maltreatment of Palestinians.

Just one case of beating prisoners has proceeded to court, with the service member handed a punishment to 210 days. An effort to prosecute others over a brutal attack including sexual violence led to public rallies and the arrest of Israel’s chief legal officer, with the accused individuals now demanding that indictments against them be withdrawn.

No Legal Action

“Regardless of this mass number of deaths, throughout the conflict no one has been detained,” the spokesperson stated. “There are no prosecutions over any death.

“During the time these practices continue to be enforced, all Palestinian detainees in detention is at peril, including the healthy ones, even the young ones who have no medical issues.”

High-Profile Cases

Some deaths in custody have been widely reported, such as a middle-aged medical chief who perished in prison after a third of a year in custody.

A detainee held with the deceased reported that he was led to the yard by guards shortly before his death, clearly wounded and unclothed from the hips downward. His remains has not been repatriated to Gaza.

Further inmates who died in detention in Israel are unidentified. The prison service and armed services gave analysts with the figure of fatalities in detention, and limited additional information including the facility where they perished, but excluding the detainees’ identities.

Recognition Difficulties

For 21 instances, mainly detainees from Gaza, researchers were unable to match the minimal data provided by authorities to a casualty documented by advocacy bodies, via statements from released detainees or coverage in the press.

The prisoners’ relatives could be unaware about their family members’ fatalities either, as Israel has made it difficult to locate Palestinians it is detaining. For seven months at the outset of the conflict, the defense forces refused to provide fundamental details about the whereabouts of numerous of individuals held in Gaza, practically enacting a practice of unacknowledged detention, per the advocacy organization.

Restricted Access

Beginning last May, government bodies have established an electronic contact for requests about detainees from Gaza, but this has led to just a incomplete and restricted enhancement. Analysts noted|observed|commented on