At least 98 Palestinians have died in Israeli custody since October 2023, according to data obtained by Physicians for Human Rights – Israel (PHRI). The real toll is likely substantially higher, as hundreds of detainees from Gaza remain unaccounted for, the group said.
PHRI tracked deaths from physical violence, medical neglect, and malnutrition using freedom of information requests, forensic reports, and interviews. Official figures for the first eight months of the war show an unprecedented casualty rate, with an average of one death every four days. The military last updated data in May 2024, and the Israel Prison Service in September 2024; PHRI identified 35 additional deaths after these dates.
Naji Abbas, director of PHRI's prisoners and detainees department, said the figures do not capture the full scale of loss. “We are sure that there are still people who died in detention that we don’t know about,” he said. Classified Israeli data indicates the majority of Gaza detainees who died were civilians, according to a parallel investigation by the Guardian, +972 Magazine, and Local Call.
The deaths cover “security prisoners,” including civilians held without charge and prisoners of conscience from the West Bank. Three of the dead were Palestinian citizens or residents of Israel. Physical violence and torture have been normalised across the jail system, with far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir boasting about starvation rations and underground jails.
In the decade before the war, there were two or three deaths per year. Since October 2023, at least 12 facilities have recorded deaths. Abbas said the systemic cruelty continues due to impunity: only one case of assault has gone to trial, resulting in a seven-month sentence. No one has been charged over any killing.
High-profile deaths include Adnan al-Bursh, head of orthopaedics at al-Shifa hospital, who died in Ofer prison after four months. A fellow prisoner testified he was brought to the yard injured and naked from the waist down shortly before his death. His body has not been returned. Many other prisoners remain unidentified.
