For the second consecutive year, Palestinians are marking Prisoners’ Day against the backdrop of Israel’s ongoing attacks in Gaza, with rights groups warning that Palestinian detainees are enduring the most brutal and inhumane conditions since the start of the Israeli occupation in 1967.
In a joint statement released on the eve of Prisoners’ Day, the Palestinian Prisoners’ Society, the Commission of Detainees’ Affairs, and Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association described the current moment as one of unprecedented suffering for Palestinian political prisoners.
The groups reported that since Israel launched its war on Gaza in October 2023, at least 63 Palestinian prisoners have died in Israeli custody, 40 of them from the besieged Gaza Strip. Many were killed directly through physical violence or indirectly through systematic deprivation, including the denial of medical care and food.
The most harrowing recent case was 17-year-old Walid Ahmad from Silwad, who died in March after being starved to death.
According to the report, the current wave of abuse includes "routine beatings, sexual violence, denial of medical care, and psychological torture".