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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. An advocacy organization operating from Israel has stated that the true toll is almost certainly substantially larger, because of hundreds of unaccounted for detainees from Gaza.

Report Findings

A new investigation tracked deaths resulting from brutality, lack of healthcare, and malnutrition. Researchers employed official data requests, medical examiner documents, and discussions with lawyers, advocates, relatives, and witnesses.

Israeli authorities disclosed complete information solely covering the opening period of the conflict. During this time, official figures indicate an record fatality rate among detained Palestinians, equating to a life lost every four days.

Latest Data

Israeli defense forces last updated information on deaths in detention for May 2024, and the prison service during September 2024. Researchers documented an additional 35 fatalities in detention following these periods and verified them with official sources.

Despite the total number of deaths documented being much greater than earlier projections, it probably fails to capture the full scale of losses among Palestinians, per the head of the detainee affairs unit.

“Although we are providing evidence for a higher number of deaths than earlier indicated, this is not a full picture,” he explained. “We are sure that there are yet people who perished in confinement that we are unaware of.”

Civilian Deaths

Restricted official information indicates that the vast majority of Palestinian prisoners from Gaza who died in prison were non-combatants, per a related inquiry.

In May of 2024, a defense forces registry monitoring all combatants in Gaza, a roster of over 47,000 identified persons, listed only 21 casualties in custody. By that date, 65 Gazans from Gaza had perished in detention.

Prison Situation

Brutality, torture, and other abuse of Palestinian individuals is now standard practice across Israel’s prison network over the duration of war. Senior officials have publicly acknowledged starvation rations and an below-ground detention center confining detainees who never see daylight.

Existing and previous inmates and informants from the Israeli military have all alleged systemic violations of international law.

Institutionalized Cruelty

The institutionalised cruelty came with a troubling surge in deaths documented across a minimum of 12 prison sites in Israel. During the previous decade prior to the war, there were usually two or three casualties a year.

“This does not represent only a single occurrence occasionally. It is widespread and it will continue,” a spokesperson commented, partly due to the fact there is a climate of near total impunity for harming and abusing Palestinian individuals.

Only a single instance of attacking prisoners has proceeded to court, with the military personnel handed a punishment to seven months. A endeavor to prosecute additional individuals over a brutal attack featuring assault resulted in political demonstrations and the arrest of Israel’s top military lawyer, with the alleged perpetrators now requesting that indictments against them are dropped.

Absence of Consequences

“Regardless of this significant total of deaths, throughout the conflict not one individual has been detained,” the representative noted. “There are no charges over any fatality.

“As long as these practices are being applied, every Palestinian in confinement is in danger, even the physically well individuals, including the juveniles who have no underlying conditions.”

Prominent Examples

Some deaths in confinement have been high profile, for instance a senior healthcare leader who perished in confinement after four months in confinement.

A detainee held with the victim testified that he was taken to the yard by correctional officers shortly before his demise, visibly injured and exposed from the waist down. His corpse has not been returned to Gaza.

Other prisoners who perished in confinement by Israeli authorities stay unnamed. Detention administrators and military provided investigators with the total of fatalities in confinement, and limited other details including the facility where they died, but not the inmates’ personal details.

Identification Challenges

Regarding 21 occurrences, mostly individuals from Gaza, analysts could not to connect the limited information given by authorities to a death registered by advocacy bodies, either through accounts from former inmates or coverage in the news outlets.

The detainees’ families might not have learned about their loved ones’ deaths as well, as Israel has impeded efforts to monitor Palestinian individuals it is confining. Over half a year at the outset of the hostilities, the armed services would not provide to give essential data about the status of many of persons held in Gaza, in effect implementing a policy of unacknowledged detention, as stated by the rights monitoring body.

Restricted Access

From May 2024, authorities have established an digital correspondence for enquiries about detainees from Gaza, but this has led to just a incomplete and restricted enhancement. Investigators noted|observed|commented on