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Based on data provided by Israel, at least 98 Palestinian individuals have died while in custody since October 2023. A rights monitoring body located in Israel has reported that the actual toll is almost certainly significantly higher, because of hundreds of disappeared people originating in Gaza.

Report Findings

A recent report tracked casualties resulting from physical violence, lack of healthcare, and malnutrition. Investigators utilized transparency petitions, medical examiner documents, and discussions with lawyers, activists, next of kin, and witnesses.

Government bodies provided detailed data limited to the first eight months of the war. Throughout these months, government statistics indicate an record fatality rate among Palestinian detainees, equating to a single fatality each 96 hours.

Latest Data

Israeli defense forces finalized information on detention fatalities for May 2024, and the prison service during September 2024. Researchers identified a further 35 casualties in detention subsequent to these dates and validated them with Israeli authorities.

Even with the total number of deaths recorded being significantly higher than previous assessments, it probably fails to capture the complete extent of Palestinian casualties, according to the leader of the prisoners and detainees department.

“Although we are offering documentation for a larger total of fatalities than earlier indicated, this is not the entire story,” he explained. “We are confident that there are still people who perished in custody that we are unaware of.”

Civilian Deaths

Restricted government records indicates that the majority of incarcerated Palestinians from Gaza who lost their lives in prison were ordinary citizens, per a related inquiry.

In May of the current year, a military intelligence database following all fighters in Gaza, a list of over 47,000 identified persons, listed only 21 casualties in custody. By that date, 65 Palestinians from Gaza had died in jail.

Detention Conditions

Brutality, abuse, and additional maltreatment of Palestinian individuals has been normalised across Israel’s detention facilities throughout 24 months of war. Senior officials have publicly referenced starvation rations and an underground jail confining detainees who never see daylight.

Current and former inmates and whistleblowers from the armed services have collectively claimed routine infractions of global standards.

Systemic Abuse

The organized mistreatment occurred alongside a disturbing rise in fatalities recorded across a minimum of 12 prison sites in Israel. Over ten years before the conflict, there were typically a couple deaths a year.

“This isn’t only a single occurrence sporadically. It is institutional and it is likely to persist,” an official commented, partially due to the fact there is a culture of near total impunity for killing and mistreating Palestinian individuals.

Only a single instance of attacking detainees has reached litigation, with the soldier handed a punishment to half a year. An effort to prosecute other suspects over a brutal attack including abuse caused public rallies and the detention of Israel’s senior defense attorney, with the suspects now requesting that charges against them be dismissed.

Absence of Consequences

“Despite this large quantity of casualties, throughout the conflict not one individual has been detained,” the representative said. “There exist no prosecutions over any killing.

“As long as these measures continue to be enforced, all Palestinian detainees in custody is in danger, including the those in good health, even the youth who have no health problems.”

Notable Incidents

Some deaths in custody have been widely reported, for instance a 50-year-old medical chief who lost his life in prison after 120 days in detention.

A prisoner detained alongside the victim stated that he was led to the courtyard by correctional officers immediately preceding his passing, clearly wounded and naked from the hips downward. His remains has not been returned to Gaza.

Further inmates who perished in Israeli custody stay unnamed. The prison service and military gave analysts with the figure of casualties in confinement, and basic further data such as the site where they lost their lives, but without the detainees’ identities.

Documentation Problems

For 21 instances, mostly people from Gaza, investigators were unable to match the few details provided by government bodies to a casualty documented by advocacy bodies, either through testimony from released detainees or reporting in the news outlets.

The prisoners’ relatives may not know about their family members’ fatalities also, as Israel has made it difficult to track Palestinian individuals it is detaining. During 210 days at the start of the hostilities, the armed services would not provide to provide essential data about the condition of thousands of people confined in Gaza, in effect enacting a practice of forced disappearance, according to the advocacy organization.

Limited Transparency

From May 2024, government bodies have established an email address for requests about Palestinians from Gaza, but this has led to just a incomplete and restricted improvement. Analysts noted|observed|commented on