No Fewer Than 98 Palestinian Detainees Lost Their Lives in Custody Since October 2023, Israeli Data Shows

Based on data from Israel, no fewer than 98 detainees from Palestine have died during detention since October 2023. A human rights group based in Israel has stated that the real number is almost certainly substantially greater, due to hundreds of unaccounted for detainees originating in Gaza.

Investigation Outcomes

A new investigation tracked deaths caused by physical violence, medical neglect, and malnutrition. Analysts employed transparency petitions, autopsy findings, and testimonies with attorneys, human rights defenders, next of kin, and observers.

Official sources released comprehensive data solely covering the initial 240 days of the war. During this time, reported numbers reveal an record fatality rate among detained Palestinians, equating to a single fatality every four days.

Recent Figures

Official armed forces last updated data on deaths in detention for May 2024, and the prison service during September 2024. Researchers identified another 35 casualties in custody subsequent to these dates and confirmed them with Israeli authorities.

Although the total number of casualties recorded being substantially larger than other recent estimates, it likely omits the entire scope of losses among Palestinians, according to the leader of the detainee affairs unit.

“While we are providing evidence for a larger total of fatalities than previously reported, this is not the entire story,” he said. “We are sure that there are yet detainees who died in confinement that we have not identified.”

Non-Combatant Fatalities

Confidential official information indicates that the largest portion of Palestinian prisoners from Gaza who died in jail were non-combatants, per a simultaneous inquiry.

By May of the current year, a armed services record monitoring all fighters in Gaza, a list of more than 47,000 identified persons, recorded just 21 casualties in confinement. By that date, 65 Palestinians from Gaza had lost their lives in prison.

Custodial Environment

Assault, abuse, and other abuse of detainees from Palestine has been normalised across Israel’s detention facilities during 24 months of conflict. High-ranking authorities have openly admitted inadequate food and an underground jail holding Palestinian individuals who are kept in darkness.

Present and past inmates and informants from the armed services have uniformly asserted routine infractions of human rights protocols.

Systemic Abuse

The systematic abuse was accompanied by a disturbing rise in deaths registered across a minimum of 12 detention centers in Israel. In the decade before the hostilities, there were usually two or three fatalities a year.

“This isn’t merely an isolated incident sporadically. It is widespread and it will continue,” an official stated, in part due to the fact there is a climate of near total impunity for harming and abusing detainees.

Only a single instance of attacking prisoners has proceeded to court, with the military personnel sentenced to seven months. A endeavor to try other suspects over a brutal attack featuring sexual violence led to political demonstrations and the apprehension of Israel’s top military lawyer, with the suspects now requesting that allegations against them are dropped.

No Legal Action

“Despite this large quantity of fatalities, throughout the conflict not a single person has faced arrest,” the representative noted. “There are no indictments over any killing.

“As long as these measures remain in effect, each Palestinian individual in custody faces risk, even the those in good health, including the youth who have no medical issues.”

Notable Incidents

Certain fatalities in custody have been widely reported, including a senior medical chief who perished in confinement after 120 days in detention.

An inmate detained alongside the victim testified that he was brought to the courtyard by prison staff just prior to his passing, clearly wounded and exposed from the lower body. His corpse has not been returned to Gaza.

Further inmates who perished in detention in Israel stay unnamed. The prison service and armed services gave analysts with the figure of casualties in custody, and basic further data for example the site where they perished, but without the detainees’ identities.

Identification Challenges

Regarding 21 occurrences, mostly people from Gaza, researchers were unable to match the minimal data given by government bodies to a fatality recorded by human rights groups, via accounts from released detainees or reporting in the press.

The detainees’ families might not have learned about their family members’ fatalities either, as Israel has made it difficult to track detainees it is detaining. During 210 days at the beginning of the war, the Israeli military declined to give fundamental details about the condition of many of persons held in Gaza, effectively enacting a practice of involuntary missing persons, according to the advocacy organization.

Limited Transparency

Starting in May 2024, government bodies have created an email address for inquiries about Palestinians from Gaza, but this has resulted in merely a partial and limited enhancement. Analysts noted|observed|commented on