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Based on figures from Israel, at least 98 Palestinians have died during detention starting from October 2023. A human rights group operating from Israel has stated that the true toll is almost certainly considerably larger, as a result of hundreds of unaccounted for detainees from Gaza.

Investigation Outcomes

An updated study recorded casualties caused by assault, lack of healthcare, and starvation. Investigators employed official data requests, medical examiner documents, and discussions with lawyers, human rights defenders, family members, and witnesses.

Government bodies released complete statistics solely covering the opening period of the hostilities. Over this period, official figures indicate an unprecedented fatality rate among Palestinian prisoners, amounting to one death each 96 hours.

Recent Figures

Israeli defense forces most recently revised data on detention fatalities for May 2024, and the prison service in September 2024. Investigators documented another 35 deaths in detention following these timeframes and confirmed them with official sources.

Although the total number of casualties recorded being significantly higher than previous assessments, it likely does not reflect the complete extent of losses among Palestinians, per the leader of the prisoner monitoring division.

“While we are providing evidence for a higher number of casualties than earlier indicated, this is not a full picture,” he said. “We are sure that there are still detainees who lost their lives in detention that we have not identified.”

Civilian Deaths

Confidential official information shows that the majority of Palestinian detainees from Gaza who died in jail were ordinary citizens, according to a simultaneous investigation.

During May of this year, a military intelligence database following all fighters in Gaza, a roster of over 47,000 identified persons, listed only 21 casualties in detention. By that point, 65 Palestinians from Gaza had lost their lives in jail.

Custodial Environment

Brutality, abuse, and further cruelty of Palestinians has become routine across Israel’s detention facilities throughout two years of war. High-ranking authorities have publicly acknowledged inadequate food and an underground jail confining Palestinians who are kept in darkness.

Existing and previous inmates and insiders from the Israeli military have uniformly asserted routine infractions of human rights protocols.

Organized Maltreatment

The organized mistreatment was accompanied by a troubling surge in deaths recorded across no fewer than 12 civilian and military facilities in Israel. During the previous decade prior to the hostilities, there were usually two or three deaths a year.

“This isn’t just an individual case occasionally. It is systemic and it is expected to endure,” an official commented, partially because there is a environment of almost complete immunity for fatalities and maltreatment of Palestinians.

Merely one incident of assaulting prisoners has reached litigation, with the military personnel given a penalty to half a year. An attempt to try other suspects over a brutal attack involving assault led to political demonstrations and the arrest of Israel’s top military lawyer, with the accused individuals now demanding that allegations against them be dismissed.

No Legal Action

“Regardless of this significant total of casualties, over two years not one individual has been detained,” the official stated. “There are no indictments over any fatality.

“During the time these measures remain in effect, all Palestinian detainees in detention is in danger, also the those in good health, also the young ones who have no underlying conditions.”

Notable Incidents

Some deaths in confinement have been widely reported, including a middle-aged medical chief who lost his life in detention after a third of a year in detention.

An inmate held with the deceased stated that he was led to the yard by correctional officers just prior to his passing, clearly wounded and unclothed from the hips downward. His corpse has not been returned to Gaza.

Additional detainees who died in Israeli custody are unidentified. The prison service and defense forces gave investigators with the figure of deaths in confinement, and limited other details for example the site where they perished, but excluding the inmates’ personal details.

Documentation Problems

In 21 cases, primarily individuals from Gaza, analysts were not able to connect the few details provided by government bodies to a fatality registered by rights organisations, via statements from freed prisoners or coverage in the news outlets.

The inmates’ next of kin might not have learned about their relatives’ casualties either, as Israel has created obstacles to locate Palestinians it is detaining. Over half a year at the start of the war, the defense forces refused to provide basic information about the condition of thousands of persons detained in Gaza, practically implementing a practice of involuntary missing persons, per the human rights group.

Restricted Access

Starting in May 2024, government bodies have created an email address for inquiries about detainees from Gaza, but this has resulted in merely a partial and limited betterment. Analysts noted|observed|commented on