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Per data released by Israel, at least 98 detainees from Palestine have lost their lives while in custody since October 2023. An advocacy organization operating from Israel has indicated that the real figure is likely substantially larger, due to hundreds of disappeared detainees in Gaza.

Report Findings

A new investigation recorded fatalities caused by assault, failure to provide medical care, and inadequate nutrition. Investigators used official data requests, forensic reports, and interviews with lawyers, activists, next of kin, and witnesses.

Official sources disclosed complete data only for the initial 240 days of the hostilities. Throughout these months, official figures indicate an record casualty rate among detained Palestinians, equating to a single fatality once every four-day period.

Updated Statistics

The military finalized data on deaths in detention for May 2024, and detention administration during September 2024. Researchers identified another 35 fatalities in confinement following these timeframes and confirmed them with government bodies.

Despite the aggregate figure of casualties recorded being much greater than other recent estimates, it likely fails to capture the complete extent of losses among Palestinians, according to the director of the detainee affairs unit.

“Although we are offering documentation for a larger total of casualties than earlier indicated, this is an incomplete account,” he explained. “We are sure that there are yet detainees who lost their lives in custody that we have not identified.”

Civilian Deaths

Restricted government records suggests that the largest portion of Palestinian detainees from Gaza who died in detention were ordinary citizens, according to a parallel investigation.

By May of 2024, a defense forces registry following all fighters in Gaza, a registry of over 47,000 identified persons, documented only 21 deaths in detention. By that date, 65 Palestinians from Gaza had perished in prison.

Prison Situation

Assault, abuse, and further cruelty of detainees from Palestine has been normalised across Israel’s detention facilities over the duration of hostilities. Top government figures have openly admitted minimal sustenance and an underground jail holding Palestinian individuals who never see daylight.

Current and former inmates and whistleblowers from the armed services have uniformly asserted systemic violations of global standards.

Systemic Abuse

The organized mistreatment was accompanied by a disturbing rise in deaths documented across at least 12 civilian and military facilities in Israel. During the previous decade before the conflict, there were usually two or three casualties a year.

“This does not represent just an individual case here and there. It is systemic and it will continue,” a representative commented, partly because there is a culture of almost complete immunity for fatalities and maltreatment of detainees.

Merely one incident of beating inmates has reached litigation, with the soldier sentenced to half a year. An attempt to try others over a brutal attack featuring sexual violence led to right-wing protests and the detention of Israel’s top military lawyer, with the suspects now insisting that indictments against them be dismissed.

Lack of Accountability

“Regardless of this large quantity of fatalities, throughout the conflict no one has been arrested,” the official stated. “There are no charges over any death.

“During the time these measures continue to be enforced, each Palestinian individual in custody faces risk, including the those in good health, including the juveniles who have no underlying conditions.”

Notable Incidents

Certain fatalities in detention have been widely reported, including a middle-aged healthcare leader who lost his life in prison after a third of a year in confinement.

A prisoner held with the victim stated that he was brought to the yard by correctional officers immediately preceding his demise, obviously hurt and unclothed from the waist down. His body remains unreleased to Gaza.

Other prisoners who perished in Israeli custody are unidentified. Correctional authorities and defense forces supplied investigators with the number of fatalities in detention, and limited additional information including the location where they died, but excluding the inmates’ personal details.

Documentation Problems

Regarding 21 occurrences, primarily people from Gaza, researchers could not to match the minimal data supplied by officials to a death recorded by rights organisations, via statements from released detainees or reporting in the press.

The detainees’ families may not know about their loved ones’ deaths also, as Israel has created obstacles to monitor detainees it is confining. Over half a year at the outset of the conflict, the Israeli military refused to provide fundamental details about the condition of numerous of persons confined in Gaza, effectively carrying out a approach of unacknowledged detention, according to the advocacy organization.

Limited Transparency

From May 2024, officials have established an electronic contact for enquiries about Palestinians from Gaza, but this has led to just a modest and inadequate enhancement. Investigators noted|observed|commented on