10 Gaza prisoners released from Israel in 'critical' condition as one detainee dies in hospital

Israel released on Monday 10 Palestinian prisoners from Gaza, said to be in "critical" health conditions, a day after one Palestinian inmate died.

The released prisoners from the northern Gaza Strip had been arrested during the war, which started on 7 October 2023.

The Prisoners' Information Office in Gaza reported in a statement that 10 prisoners released from the Israeli Sde Teiman prison had arrived at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip, in "critical" health condition due to the arbitrary measures taken against them by the prison administration.

The men were transported into Gaza through the Kissufim crossing by Red Cross ambulances.

On Sunday, the Commission of Prisoners' Affairs, affiliated with the Palestine Liberation Organisation, and the Prisoners' Club said in a joint statement that they were informed "of the death of administrative detainee Muhyiddin Fahmi Saeed Najm, 60, from Jenin, in the Israeli Soroka Medical Centre".

The two groups said Najm had been in detention since 8 August 2023, noting that "he has spent a total of approximately 19 years in occupation prisons, adding him to the list of martyrs of the prisoner movement".

Najm was first detained in 1994 and kept in prison for 17 years, before being arrested again months before the start of the Gaza war.

They said Najm, who leaves behind a wife and six children, died as a result of medical negligence as he was completely deprived of treatment.

Israel stepped up its arrest of Palestinians when the Gaza war started in both the war-ravaged territory and the occupied West Bank.

Prisoners and detainees – many of whom are kept under administrative detention – have spoken about the torture and abuse they face in detention.

Administrative detention allows for detainees to be held for long periods without being charged or appearing in court, and is often used against Palestinians who Israel deems security threats. Rights groups have slammed the practice.

A short-lived truce reached between Israel and the Hamas Palestinian group on 19 January saw thousands of Palestinian prisoners and detainees released in return for dozens of Israeli and foreign captives held in Gaza.

But Israel resumed its attacks on the besieged enclave two months later over a fallout over moving forward with the ceasefire agreement.

More than 52,000 people have been killed in Gaza since the start of the war, mostly civilians, the territory’s health ministry says.