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According to information provided by Israel, a minimum of 98 Palestinian individuals have lost their lives during detention since October 2023. A rights monitoring body located in Israel has indicated that the real figure is almost certainly considerably larger, due to hundreds of unaccounted for people from Gaza.

Investigation Outcomes

A new investigation documented deaths attributed to assault, lack of healthcare, and inadequate nutrition. Analysts used freedom of information requests, medical examiner documents, and testimonies with legal representatives, human rights defenders, relatives, and witnesses.

Official sources released detailed statistics solely covering the first eight months of the conflict. Throughout these months, government statistics show an historically high casualty rate among detained Palestinians, amounting to a single fatality every four days.

Recent Figures

Official armed forces last updated information on custodial deaths for May 2024, and the prison service in September 2024. Researchers identified an additional 35 casualties in confinement subsequent to these dates and validated them with Israeli authorities.

Despite the total number of deaths charted being significantly higher than previous assessments, it probably fails to capture the complete extent of Palestinian loss, according to the head of the detainee affairs unit.

“Although we are presenting proof for a greater figure of casualties than once estimated, this is not the entire story,” he explained. “We are confident that there are even now people who perished in custody that we are unaware of.”

Non-Combatant Fatalities

Classified official information indicates that the majority of incarcerated Palestinians from Gaza who perished in prison were civilians, per a simultaneous inquiry.

In May of 2024, a military intelligence database following all combatants in Gaza, a roster of over 47,000 listed people, recorded just 21 fatalities in confinement. By that date, 65 Palestinians from Gaza had perished in jail.

Detention Conditions

Brutality, abuse, and other abuse of detainees from Palestine has become routine across Israel’s detention facilities throughout two years of hostilities. High-ranking authorities have publicly referenced inadequate food and an below-ground detention center confining detainees who are denied sunlight.

Current and former prisoners and whistleblowers from the armed services have all alleged routine infractions of human rights protocols.

Institutionalized Cruelty

The systematic abuse occurred alongside a troubling surge in casualties documented across a minimum of 12 civilian and military facilities in Israel. In the decade prior to the hostilities, there were usually a couple fatalities a year.

“This does not represent only a single occurrence occasionally. It is widespread and it is expected to endure,” an official stated, partly since there is a climate of almost complete immunity for killing and mistreating detainees.

Just one case of assaulting inmates has reached litigation, with the service member given a penalty to half a year. An attempt to prosecute additional individuals over a vicious assault including sexual violence resulted in political demonstrations and the detention of Israel’s chief legal officer, with the accused individuals now demanding that allegations against them are dropped.

Absence of Consequences

“In spite of this mass number of fatalities, throughout the conflict no one has been detained,” the official said. “There are no charges over any killing.

“During the time these practices continue to be enforced, every Palestinian in confinement is in danger, also the healthy ones, even the juveniles who have no underlying conditions.”

High-Profile Cases

Certain fatalities in confinement have been widely reported, such as a middle-aged hospital director who died in confinement after a third of a year in confinement.

An inmate detained alongside the victim testified that he was brought to the yard by correctional officers shortly before his death, clearly wounded and naked from the waist down. His body remains unreleased to Gaza.

Other prisoners who lost their lives in confinement by Israeli authorities remain anonymous. Detention administrators and defense forces supplied investigators with the figure of fatalities in custody, and limited additional information including the site where they died, but without the inmates’ personal details.

Recognition Difficulties

In 21 cases, mainly detainees from Gaza, researchers were unable to match the few details supplied by officials to a death recorded by advocacy bodies, either through statements from former inmates or reporting in the press.

The prisoners’ relatives may not know about their loved ones’ deaths either, as Israel has made it difficult to locate Palestinians it is detaining. Over half a year at the outset of the conflict, the armed services refused to give essential data about the whereabouts of numerous of persons detained in Gaza, effectively implementing a policy of involuntary missing persons, as stated by the advocacy organization.

Insufficient Disclosure

Starting in May 2024, government bodies have created an email address for requests about Palestinian individuals from Gaza, but this has provided only a partial and limited enhancement. Researchers noted|observed|commented on