Palestine Action hunger striker Heba Muraisi has warned her close friends that she's dying as her 72-day hunger strike continues, surpassing the length of Irish republican Bobby Sands' 1981 hunger strike while imprisoned in the UK.
Muraisi, 31, is the longest serving hunger striker from the "Filton 24" - a group of Palestine Action activists facing terrorism related charges in the UK over the disruption of arms manufacturer Elbit Systems' Filton site in 2024.
Other members who taking part in the strike include Kamran Ahmed, 28, who is on day 65 of his strike, as well as Lewie Chiaramello, 22, who has type 1 diabetes and has been fasting every other day for 44 days. Umar Khalid, who had paused his strike, restarted it on Saturday.
According to reports from Al Jazeera and The Guardian, Muraisi has told her friends that she is increasingly thinking about her death as her health condition continues to deteriorate.
Prisoners for Palestine (P4P), the British-based Prisoner-led collective representing those detained over alleged involvement with the now-banned direct action group Palestine Action, warned that Muraisi's condition is critical.
How has Muraisi's condition deteriorated?
Hunger strikes are a form of protest where the striker refuses to eat any food for a prolonged period of time, and historically have generated attention for issues because of the risk of death it poses to the participant.
During the early stages of starvation, following days without food, the body will begin to break down fat, and later muscle, to produce energy.
However, as time progresses, the body’s metabolism, which helps convert food into energy, slows down. As a result, key bodily functions, including temperature regulation, kidney function, and immune system strength, weaken.
Once reserves are used up, the body will be unable to prioritise nutrients for organs, with the heart and lungs becoming less efficient and muscles shrinking.
The body will then begin to break down its own tissues, with death often imminent. It is medically believed that adults can survive between 45 and 61 days without food.
At 72-days of hunger strike, Muraisi's situation is critical. Francesca Nadin, an activist, spokesperson for P4P, and a friend of Muraisi, told The New Arab that she is extremely emaciated, has a weakened immune system, and is at risk of sudden organ failure.
"She's incredibly skinny, fragile and paper thin. I feel like if I hugged her properly, I would just break her," she told TNA, adding that "her hair's falling out. She gets tired very easily and dizzy when she stands up for too long".
If Muraisi does survive, the process of starvation leaves her at risk of long-term damage to her body, with Nadin saying that "there's no way of knowing until sometime afterwards. It could appear weeks or even months after the strike ends".
She added that her family and friends were worried about waking up to the news of Muraisi's death.
The latest in a history of hunger strikes
There have been several high-profile hunger strikes in UK protest history, including those carried out by imprisoned members of the suffragette movement during their campaign for women's suffrage.
Another infamous and tragic hunger strike in recent UK history was carried out by Irish republican prisoners in 1981 during the Troubles in Northern Ireland, when inmates protested the withdrawal of political prisoner status and demanded recognition as political, rather than criminal, detainees.
Nine people died during the strike, which was led by Provisional Irish Republican Army member Bobby Sands, who himself died after 66 days of hunger strike.
Nadin told The New Arab that she was impressed by Muraisi's strength and that without it, she wouldn't be here today.
"She [Muraisi] said, 'I know if I wasn't so determined and sure in my mind that I would be gone by now.' And I saw a video the other day of Pat Sheehan who was a hunger striker in 1981 who said exactly the same thing."
"So it really just echoed that with that determination of mind, you really can overcome these incredible difficulties."