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Per information released by Israel, a minimum of 98 Palestinian individuals have perished while in custody starting from October 2023. A rights monitoring body based in Israel has stated that the real figure is probably substantially greater, because of many of disappeared people from Gaza.

Report Findings

A recent report tracked casualties resulting from brutality, lack of healthcare, and malnutrition. Researchers employed transparency petitions, forensic reports, and discussions with lawyers, human rights defenders, next of kin, and witnesses.

Israeli authorities disclosed detailed information limited to the initial 240 days of the conflict. Over this period, reported numbers show an unprecedented casualty rate among Palestinian detainees, averaging a single fatality every four days.

Latest Data

Official armed forces most recently revised records on custodial deaths for May 2024, and the prison service by September 2024. Investigators identified a further 35 fatalities in confinement after these periods and validated them with government bodies.

Although the total number of casualties recorded being substantially larger than previous assessments, it likely omits the entire scope of Palestinian casualties, per the head of the prisoner monitoring division.

“Even though we are providing evidence for a larger total of fatalities than earlier indicated, this is not a full picture,” he explained. “We are sure that there are yet people who perished in custody that we are unaware of.”

Civilian Casualties

Confidential government records shows that the majority of Palestinian detainees from Gaza who lost their lives in jail were ordinary citizens, based on a parallel investigation.

During May of this year, a military intelligence database tracking all fighters in Gaza, a registry of over 47,000 named individuals, recorded just 21 fatalities in detention. At that time, 65 Palestinians from Gaza had died in detention.

Custodial Environment

Assault, mistreatment, and further cruelty of Palestinians has become routine across Israel’s detention facilities during the duration of hostilities. High-ranking authorities have openly admitted starvation rations and an underground jail detaining Palestinians who are denied sunlight.

Current and former prisoners and insiders from the Israeli military have all alleged routine infractions of international law.

Systemic Abuse

The institutionalised cruelty came with a disturbing rise in deaths recorded across at least 12 prison sites in Israel. In the decade before the hostilities, there were usually several casualties a year.

“This does not represent just an individual case here and there. It is systemic and it is likely to persist,” a spokesperson commented, partially since there is a environment of near total impunity for harming and abusing detainees.

Just one case of beating detainees has reached litigation, with the soldier handed a punishment to seven months. An attempt to try additional individuals over a vicious assault including sexual violence led to political demonstrations and the arrest of Israel’s top military lawyer, with the accused individuals now insisting that allegations against them be dismissed.

Absence of Consequences

“In spite of this mass number of casualties, during 24 months no one has been arrested,” the representative said. “There exist no indictments over any death.

“During the time these practices continue to be enforced, all Palestinian detainees in detention is at peril, also the healthy ones, even the youth who have no underlying conditions.”

Prominent Examples

Several casualties in confinement have been high profile, for instance a middle-aged hospital director who lost his life in confinement after four months in custody.

An inmate incarcerated with the victim reported that he was brought to the exercise area by prison staff just prior to his death, obviously hurt and naked from the hips downward. His corpse has not been repatriated to Gaza.

Other prisoners who died in detention in Israel are unidentified. Correctional authorities and defense forces supplied researchers with the number of deaths in detention, and limited additional information including the location where they died, but not the prisoners’ names.

Recognition Difficulties

Regarding 21 occurrences, mostly people from Gaza, investigators could not to match the limited information provided by government bodies to a fatality registered by advocacy bodies, via accounts from released detainees or reporting in the news outlets.

The inmates’ next of kin could be unaware about their family members’ fatalities as well, as Israel has impeded efforts to monitor detainees it is detaining. Over half a year at the beginning of the hostilities, the armed services would not provide to provide basic information about the condition of thousands of individuals confined in Gaza, effectively enacting a practice of involuntary missing persons, per the human rights group.

Limited Transparency

From May 2024, government bodies have provided an digital correspondence for enquiries about detainees from Gaza, but this has provided only a modest and inadequate improvement. Researchers noted|observed|commented on