Unprecedented Death Toll in Israeli Detention Facilities
At least 98 Palestinian prisoners have lost their lives while in Israeli custody since October 2023, according to official Israeli data examined by Physicians for Human Rights (PHR). The Israel-based human rights organisation warns that the actual number is likely substantially higher, as hundreds of detainees from Gaza remain unaccounted for.
The casualty rate among Palestinian detainees has reached unprecedented levels, with an average of one death occurring every four days during the first eight months of the conflict. Israeli authorities have only provided comprehensive data covering this initial period, leaving significant gaps in understanding the full scale of casualties.
Systemic Abuse and Institutionalised Cruelty
PHR researchers conducted extensive investigations using freedom of information requests, forensic reports, and interviews with lawyers, activists, relatives, and witnesses. Their findings reveal that deaths resulted from various causes including physical violence, medical neglect, and malnutrition.
Naji Abbas, director of the prisoners and detainees department at PHR, emphasised the systemic nature of the problem. "This isn't just an individual case here and there. It is systemic and it will continue," he stated, attributing the pattern to a culture of near-total impunity for mistreating Palestinian detainees.
The research identified deaths across at least 12 civilian and military facilities in Israel. This represents a dramatic increase from the pre-war period, when there were typically only two or three detention-related deaths annually.
High-Profile Cases and Anonymous Victims
Among the most prominent cases is that of Dr Adnan al-Bursh, the 50-year-old head of orthopaedics at al-Shifa hospital, who died in Ofer prison after four months in detention. A fellow prisoner testified that Dr al-Bursh was brought to the prison yard shortly before his death, visibly injured and naked from the waist down. His body has not been returned to his family in Gaza.
Another significant case involves Hussam Abu Safiya, director of Gaza's Kamal Adwan hospital, who was detained during a raid in December 2024. Israeli authorities initially denied holding him for a week, despite video evidence showing soldiers leading him into a vehicle.
However, many prisoners who died in Israeli custody remain anonymous. The Israeli Prison Service and military provided PHR with death counts and minimal details, but frequently withheld the prisoners' names. In 21 cases, mostly involving individuals from Gaza, PHR could not match the limited information provided by authorities to deaths recorded by rights organisations or media reports.
Families Left in the Dark
The report highlights how Israel has made it exceptionally difficult to track Palestinians in its custody. For the first seven months of the conflict, the Israeli military refused to provide basic information about thousands of people detained in Gaza, effectively implementing a policy of forced disappearance according to PHR.
The Alfaqawi family's experience illustrates this troubling pattern. Israeli forces took Mounir Alfaqawi, 41, and his son Yassin, 18, from their home in Khan Younis in March 2024. When human rights group HaMoked attempted to trace them, the military repeatedly claimed it had no record of detaining either man. Only after a legal appeal in October did the family learn that both men had died in custody.
Lawyers frequently receive responses stating there is no record of their clients' arrests, even when detention has been well-documented. Over a six-month period last year, Israeli authorities provided this response to inquiries about approximately 400 individuals.
Limited Accountability and International Law Concerns
The PHR report documents a disturbing lack of accountability for deaths and abuse in detention. Only one case involving assault against detainees has reached trial, resulting in a seven-month sentence for a soldier. Attempts to prosecute other cases have faced significant obstacles, including right-wing protests and the arrest of Israel's top military lawyer.
"Despite this mass number of deaths, over two years no one has been arrested," Abbas noted. "There have been no charges over any killing. While these policies are being applied, every Palestinian in detention is in danger, even the healthy ones, even the young ones who have no underlying medical issues."
Current and former detainees, along with whistleblowers from the Israeli military, have all alleged systemic violations of international law. The institutionalised cruelty has been accompanied by what PHR describes as "continued failures and lack of transparency" in providing information about detainees.
The Israeli military stated that it acts "in accordance with Israeli and international law" and investigates each detainee death through military police procedures. The Israel Prison Service did not respond to requests for comment regarding these findings.
