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According to information provided by Israel, no fewer than 98 detainees from Palestine have lost their lives while in custody since October 2023. A rights monitoring body based in Israel has reported that the actual toll is likely considerably greater, because of many of disappeared detainees from Gaza.

Study Results

An updated study documented fatalities resulting from brutality, lack of healthcare, and starvation. Analysts employed transparency petitions, autopsy findings, and interviews with legal representatives, advocates, next of kin, and eyewitnesses.

Israeli authorities released detailed data limited to the first eight months of the hostilities. Over this period, government statistics reveal an unprecedented casualty rate among Palestinian detainees, equating to one death once every four-day period.

Latest Data

Official armed forces last updated information on detention fatalities for May 2024, and the prison service during September 2024. Researchers identified another 35 casualties in detention after these dates and validated them with Israeli authorities.

Even with the aggregate figure of deaths documented being significantly higher than previous assessments, it almost certainly fails to capture the full scale of Palestinian casualties, as stated by the head of the detainee affairs unit.

“Although we are presenting proof for a larger total of casualties than once estimated, this is not a full picture,” he explained. “We are certain that there are yet detainees who died in confinement that we have not identified.”

Civilian Deaths

Confidential government records shows that the largest portion of incarcerated Palestinians from Gaza who died in detention were ordinary citizens, based on a parallel inquiry.

During May of this year, a military intelligence database tracking all militants in Gaza, a list of in excess of 47,000 identified persons, recorded just 21 deaths in confinement. By that date, 65 Gazans from Gaza had perished in detention.

Custodial Environment

Assault, abuse, and additional maltreatment of Palestinians has become routine across Israel’s prison network during 24 months of conflict. High-ranking authorities have openly admitted inadequate food and an underground jail detaining detainees who are kept in darkness.

Existing and previous prisoners and informants from the armed services have uniformly asserted widespread breaches of international law.

Systemic Abuse

The institutionalised cruelty came with a alarming increase in deaths documented across no fewer than 12 civilian and military facilities in Israel. During the previous decade before the hostilities, there were on average several deaths a year.

“This does not represent only a single occurrence here and there. It is systemic and it will continue,” a representative commented, partially because there is a climate of virtual exemption from consequences for killing and mistreating detainees.

Merely one incident of assaulting prisoners has come to trial, with the military personnel handed a punishment to half a year. An effort to charge others over a severe beating including assault led to political demonstrations and the apprehension of Israel’s chief legal officer, with the alleged perpetrators now insisting that allegations against them be withdrawn.

Absence of Consequences

“Despite this large quantity of fatalities, throughout the conflict no one has faced arrest,” the official said. “There exist no indictments over any fatality.

“While these measures remain in effect, all Palestinian detainees in custody faces risk, even the healthy ones, also the juveniles who have no underlying conditions.”

Prominent Examples

Certain fatalities in custody have been high profile, including a middle-aged hospital director who died in confinement after 120 days in detention.

A detainee detained alongside the deceased testified that he was brought to the courtyard by correctional officers shortly before his demise, clearly wounded and exposed from the lower body. His body has not been repatriated to Gaza.

Further inmates who perished in confinement by Israeli authorities remain anonymous. The prison service and military gave analysts with the number of deaths in detention, and basic further data including the facility where they perished, but without the inmates’ personal details.

Documentation Problems

In 21 cases, primarily individuals from Gaza, researchers were not able to correlate the few details provided by officials to a death registered by human rights groups, by means of statements from freed prisoners or coverage in the news outlets.

The prisoners’ relatives might not have learned about their relatives’ casualties as well, as Israel has created obstacles to locate detainees it is holding. Over half a year at the outset of the conflict, the armed services declined to give fundamental details about the condition of numerous of individuals held in Gaza, effectively carrying out a practice of forced disappearance, as stated by the human rights group.

Restricted Access

Beginning last May, government bodies have established an email address for requests about detainees from Gaza, but this has led to just a partial and limited betterment. Investigators noted|observed|commented on