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According to information from Israel, at least 98 Palestinians have died while in custody beginning in October 2023. An advocacy organization operating from Israel has stated that the real figure is almost certainly considerably greater, due to hundreds of disappeared individuals originating in Gaza.

Study Results

A new investigation documented deaths caused by physical violence, medical neglect, and inadequate nutrition. Analysts used transparency petitions, forensic reports, and interviews with lawyers, human rights defenders, next of kin, and witnesses.

Israeli authorities provided detailed statistics limited to the opening period of the conflict. Over this period, official figures reveal an record fatality rate among Palestinian detainees, equating to one death once every four-day period.

Recent Figures

The military most recently revised records on detention fatalities for May 2024, and detention administration by September 2024. Analysts identified an additional 35 casualties in custody after these timeframes and validated them with official sources.

Even with the total number of deaths documented being significantly higher than other recent estimates, it likely does not reflect the full scale of Palestinian casualties, per the head of the prisoner monitoring division.

“Even though we are offering documentation for a higher number of casualties than once estimated, this is not the entire story,” he stated. “We are sure that there are yet people who perished in confinement that we are unaware of.”

Civilian Casualties

Restricted government records suggests that the majority of Palestinian detainees from Gaza who died in detention were non-combatants, per a related examination.

By May of the current year, a military intelligence database monitoring all combatants in Gaza, a roster of in excess of 47,000 named individuals, listed only 21 casualties in confinement. By that point, 65 Palestinians from Gaza had lost their lives in prison.

Custodial Environment

Physical violence, torture, and other abuse of Palestinian individuals has been normalised across Israel’s jail system during 24 months of hostilities. Senior officials have publicly acknowledged inadequate food and an underground jail detaining Palestinian individuals who are kept in darkness.

Current and former detainees and whistleblowers from the Israeli military have all alleged routine infractions of international law.

Systemic Abuse

The organized mistreatment came with a alarming increase in fatalities documented across at least 12 prison sites in Israel. During the previous decade before the conflict, there were usually several fatalities a year.

“This is not merely an isolated incident occasionally. It is widespread and it is likely to persist,” a spokesperson said, partially since there is a culture of almost complete immunity for killing and mistreating detainees.

Only a single instance of attacking detainees has come to trial, with the military personnel sentenced to seven months. An attempt to try additional individuals over a severe beating including assault resulted in public rallies and the arrest of Israel’s chief legal officer, with the suspects now insisting that allegations against them be withdrawn.

Lack of Accountability

“Despite this mass number of casualties, over two years no one has been arrested,” the representative noted. “There have been no charges over any fatality.

“During the time these practices remain in effect, each Palestinian individual in detention faces risk, including the physically well individuals, even the young ones who have no underlying conditions.”

High-Profile Cases

Several casualties in detention have been publicly known, such as a middle-aged healthcare leader who perished in prison after 120 days in detention.

An inmate held with the victim reported that he was taken to the exercise area by guards immediately preceding his death, obviously hurt and exposed from the waist down. His remains remains unreleased to Gaza.

Additional detainees who perished in Israeli custody remain anonymous. The prison service and armed services supplied analysts with the total of deaths in detention, and limited additional information for example the site where they perished, but without the detainees’ identities.

Documentation Problems

Regarding 21 occurrences, primarily people from Gaza, investigators were not able to connect the limited information given by government bodies to a fatality registered by human rights groups, by means of testimony from released detainees or coverage in the press.

The inmates’ next of kin might not have learned about their family members’ fatalities as well, as Israel has made it difficult to track Palestinian individuals it is holding. For seven months at the beginning of the hostilities, the Israeli military would not provide to provide essential data about the whereabouts of thousands of persons held in Gaza, in effect implementing a practice of forced disappearance, per the human rights group.

Restricted Access

Starting in May 2024, government bodies have established an digital correspondence for requests about Palestinians from Gaza, but this has resulted in merely a partial and limited enhancement. Analysts noted|observed|commented on