No Fewer Than 98 Palestinian Individuals Lost Their Lives in Custody Since October 2023, Statistics from Israel Shows
Per information released by Israel, at least 98 Palestinians have perished during detention starting from October 2023. An advocacy organization operating from Israel has stated that the real figure is likely significantly greater, as a result of numerous of unaccounted for people in Gaza.
Investigation Outcomes
A new investigation documented fatalities attributed to assault, lack of healthcare, and inadequate nutrition. Investigators used transparency petitions, medical examiner documents, and testimonies with lawyers, human rights defenders, next of kin, and eyewitnesses.
Official sources provided detailed data solely covering the initial 240 days of the war. During this time, official figures reveal an record fatality rate among Palestinian prisoners, averaging one death each 96 hours.
Updated Statistics
The military finalized information on detention fatalities for May 2024, and the prison service by September 2024. Researchers discovered another 35 deaths in detention subsequent to these dates and confirmed them with Israeli authorities.
Although the overall count of fatalities documented being much greater than earlier projections, it probably does not reflect the complete extent of losses among Palestinians, according to the director of the prisoner monitoring division.
“Although we are presenting proof for a greater figure of fatalities than once estimated, this is not a full picture,” he stated. “We are certain that there are still detainees who perished in custody that we are unaware of.”
Civilian Deaths
Classified official information shows that the vast majority of Palestinian prisoners from Gaza who lost their lives in detention were non-combatants, per a parallel inquiry.
During May of the current year, a military intelligence database tracking all fighters in Gaza, a roster of more than 47,000 identified persons, listed merely 21 deaths in custody. At that time, 65 Gazans from Gaza had lost their lives in jail.
Prison Situation
Assault, abuse, and additional maltreatment of Palestinian individuals has become routine across Israel’s detention facilities during 24 months of conflict. Senior officials have publicly referenced starvation rations and an below-ground detention center detaining detainees who are denied sunlight.
Present and past prisoners and whistleblowers from the armed services have all alleged widespread breaches of global standards.
Systemic Abuse
The institutionalised cruelty came with a disturbing rise in deaths documented across no fewer than 12 prison sites in Israel. In the decade before the hostilities, there were typically two or three casualties a year.
“This isn’t only a single occurrence here and there. It is widespread and it is likely to persist,” a representative stated, partially because there is a culture of near total impunity for fatalities and maltreatment of Palestinians.
Merely one incident of assaulting prisoners has come to trial, with the service member sentenced to seven months. A endeavor to prosecute others over a severe beating including abuse caused right-wing protests and the apprehension of Israel’s chief legal officer, with the suspects now insisting that allegations against them are dropped.
Absence of Consequences
“Despite this mass number of fatalities, during 24 months not a single person has faced arrest,” the official stated. “There have been no charges over any killing.
“During the time these practices are being applied, each Palestinian individual in detention is in danger, even the physically well individuals, also the juveniles who have no underlying conditions.”
Prominent Examples
Some deaths in detention have been publicly known, for instance a senior medical chief who perished in prison after 120 days in custody.
An inmate detained alongside the victim testified that he was taken to the exercise area by correctional officers immediately preceding his demise, obviously hurt and exposed from the lower body. His corpse has not been returned to Gaza.
Other prisoners who perished in Israeli custody are unidentified. Correctional authorities and military gave investigators with the number of deaths in confinement, and limited other details such as the site where they lost their lives, but excluding the prisoners’ names.
Identification Challenges
Regarding 21 occurrences, mainly individuals from Gaza, analysts could not to match the few details given by officials to a casualty documented by advocacy bodies, either through accounts from former inmates or accounts in the press.
The detainees’ families might not have learned about their family members’ fatalities also, as Israel has made it difficult to monitor Palestinians it is holding. For seven months at the beginning of the hostilities, the armed services would not provide to provide basic information about the whereabouts of many of people detained in Gaza, effectively carrying out a practice of involuntary missing persons, according to the rights monitoring body.
Limited Transparency
Beginning last May, authorities have created an digital correspondence for requests about Palestinian individuals from Gaza, but this has led to just a partial and limited enhancement. Researchers noted|observed|commented on
