No Fewer Than 98 Palestinians Have Died in Israeli Custody Beginning in October 2023, Israeli Data Shows
Based on data from Israel, no fewer than 98 Palestinians have perished during detention beginning in October 2023. A rights monitoring body based in Israel has indicated that the true toll is almost certainly substantially larger, because of hundreds of unaccounted for detainees from Gaza.
Report Findings
A new investigation tracked casualties attributed to assault, failure to provide medical care, and malnutrition. Investigators used transparency petitions, autopsy findings, and testimonies with lawyers, advocates, relatives, and witnesses.
Official sources released complete data solely covering the first eight months of the hostilities. Over this period, official figures show an historically high death toll among detained Palestinians, averaging a life lost each 96 hours.
Recent Figures
Official armed forces most recently revised records on deaths in detention for May 2024, and the prison service in September 2024. Investigators discovered another 35 casualties in custody after these timeframes and confirmed them with Israeli authorities.
Even with the total number of casualties recorded being significantly higher than earlier projections, it likely does not reflect the complete extent of Palestinian casualties, per the head of the prisoner monitoring division.
“While we are providing evidence for a higher number of fatalities than once estimated, this is not the entire story,” he said. “We are sure that there are still individuals who perished in detention that we are unaware of.”
Non-Combatant Fatalities
Restricted Israeli data indicates that the largest portion of Palestinian detainees from Gaza who perished in prison were non-combatants, based on a parallel inquiry.
During May of 2024, a armed services record tracking all combatants in Gaza, a roster of over 47,000 identified persons, documented only 21 casualties in detention. By that date, 65 Gazans from Gaza had lost their lives in detention.
Prison Situation
Brutality, torture, and further cruelty of Palestinians is now standard practice across Israel’s jail system throughout two years of conflict. Top government figures have publicly referenced inadequate food and an below-ground detention center confining Palestinian individuals who never see daylight.
Present and past inmates and insiders from the Israeli military have uniformly asserted systemic violations of global standards.
Systemic Abuse
The organized mistreatment came with a troubling surge in casualties recorded across at least 12 prison sites in Israel. In the decade prior to the hostilities, there were typically several deaths a year.
“This is not merely an isolated incident sporadically. It is widespread and it is expected to endure,” a representative stated, partially due to the fact there is a climate of near total impunity for killing and mistreating Palestinian individuals.
Only a single instance of beating inmates has proceeded to court, with the military personnel given a penalty to 210 days. An effort to prosecute others over a brutal attack featuring sexual violence caused right-wing protests and the detention of Israel’s top military lawyer, with the alleged perpetrators now insisting that allegations against them be withdrawn.
Absence of Consequences
“In spite of this large quantity of casualties, over two years not one individual has faced arrest,” the official noted. “There exist no indictments over any killing.
“As long as these policies are being applied, each Palestinian individual in confinement faces risk, including the those in good health, even the young ones who have no medical issues.”
High-Profile Cases
Several casualties in confinement have been high profile, including a 50-year-old hospital director who lost his life in prison after a third of a year in detention.
A detainee incarcerated with the individual reported that he was brought to the courtyard by correctional officers immediately preceding his passing, visibly injured and exposed from the waist down. His corpse has not been returned to Gaza.
Further inmates who perished in detention in Israel stay unnamed. The prison service and defense forces gave investigators with the total of casualties in detention, and basic further data for example the site where they died, but excluding the inmates’ personal details.
Recognition Difficulties
For 21 instances, mainly individuals from Gaza, investigators were unable to match the minimal data provided by government bodies to a fatality documented by human rights groups, either through accounts from freed prisoners or accounts in the press.
The prisoners’ relatives might not have learned about their relatives’ casualties also, as Israel has created obstacles to locate Palestinians it is detaining. For seven months at the start of the conflict, the Israeli military refused to give essential data about the status of numerous of persons held in Gaza, effectively implementing a policy of forced disappearance, according to the advocacy organization.
Restricted Access
From May 2024, authorities have provided an electronic contact for inquiries about Palestinian individuals from Gaza, but this has provided only a partial and limited enhancement. Investigators noted|observed|commented on