At least 98 Palestinians died in Israeli prisons amid Gaza war due to abuse, neglect, torture: rights group

The number of Palestinian prisoners dying while in Israeli detention dramatically surged during the war in Gaza, a new report has found.

The Physicians for Human Rights in Israel (PHRI) NGO said at least 98 Palestinian detainees have died in custody since October 2023, when the Gaza war broke out. They were subjected to assault, medical neglect, denial of food and other forms of abuse.

The NGO said seven deaths occurred in 2023, with 50 in 2024, and 21 so far this year. The most recent death was recorded on 2 November.

68 were from the Gaza Strip, while the others were from the West Bank or held Israeli citizenship.

The true number of fatalities, however, is estimated to be higher, given the number of those missing and unaccounted for, particularly from the Gaza Strip.

Among the leading causes of death are internal organ damage, rib fractures, malnutrition and severe medical neglect.

Thousands of Palestinians from the war-battered Gaza Strip were kidnapped and taken to detention centres, many of which became notorious for the torture, abuse, and rape of prisoners over the course of the war. An estimated 11,000 from Gaza and the West Bank were detained in facilities such as Megiddo, Ofer, and Nitzan.

Despite evidence of horrific torture and abuse at Israeli prisons, Israeli officials continue to claim that their prisons and detention centres "abide by the law".

However, many refused to cooperate with the PHRI during their probe.

Among the most infamous detention centres is Sde Teiman, located in the Negev (Naqab) desert of southern Israel, where Palestinian prisoners were horrifically raped by Israeli soldiers, including one case where man was subjected to rape with a metal rod in July 2024,

The following month, two Palestinian men, Omar Junaid and Islam al-Sarsawi, were tortured to death at the facility.

The number of those who have died in Israeli detention in the past two years is more than twice the number of those who lost their lives while detained in the 10 years preceding the war, which stands at less than 30.

PHRI’s findings paint an extremely grim picture of the levels of abuse directed at Palestinians during the Gaza war.

The NGO interviewed prison medical staff and detainees alike, examining autopsies with permission from the victims' families.

"The alarming rate at which people are killed in Israeli custody reveals a system that has lost all moral and professional restraint," said Naji Abbas, a director at PHRI.

"PHTRI calls for an independent international investigation into the deaths of Palestinians in Israeli custody," he added.

The report’s findings align with those from a similar one carried out by The Associated Press, which also interviewed staff and detainees alike.

One former prison guard said Palestinians were "routinely shackled and hit with batons," and called Sde Teiman a "graveyard" because of the many Palestinians who died there.

One day, he found a "motionless" Palestinian man in the detention facility, and said no prison staff tended to him.

Israeli forces continue to detain thousands, including Dr Hussam Abu Safiya, the director of the Kamal Adwan Hospital, Dr Marwan al-Hams, the director of the Abu Youssef Najjar Hospital in Rafah, and 17-year-old Palestinian-American Mohammed Ibrahim, currently detained in Ofer prison.