At least 98 Palestinians have died in Israeli custody since October 2023, human rights group says

PHRI’s report tracked deaths from causes including physical violence, medical neglect, and malnutrition. Official Israeli figures provided for the first eight months of the war show an unprecedented casualty rate among detainees, averaging one death every four days. Researchers confirmed another 35 deaths after the official data was last updated.

Systemic Violence and Lack of Accountability

The deaths are occurring across at least 12 civilian and military facilities, representing a disturbing rise compared to the decade preceding the war, which saw an average of two or three deaths a year. PHRI director Naji Abbas stated that this is not an individual phenomenon but a systemic issue, fueled by a culture of near-total impunity.

• Civilian Casualties: Classified Israeli data, cross-referenced by an investigation involving The Guardian, indicates that the majority of Palestinian prisoners from Gaza who died in jail were civilians, with military intelligence data listing only 21 of the deceased as militants at the time 65 captives from Gaza were known to have died.

• Abuse and Neglect: Current and former detainees and Israeli military whistleblowers have alleged systemic violations of international law, including physical violence, torture, and abuse. Far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir has publicly boasted about starvation rations and the use of an underground jail.

• Impunity: Despite the mass number of deaths, Abbas noted that over two years, no one has been arrested or charged over any killing. One soldier convicted of assaulting detainees was sentenced to just seven months.

Missing Detainees and Transparency Failure

The PHRI report highlights that Israel’s refusal to provide clear, timely information about the status of prisoners provides substantial grounds to fear that many of the missing are no longer alive. For seven months at the start of the war, the military refused to provide basic information about the status of thousands of people detained in Gaza, effectively implementing forced disappearance.

Among the high-profile deaths is Adnan al-Bursh, 50, the head of orthopaedics at al-Shifa hospital, who died in Ofer prison after four months. A fellow prisoner testified that Al-Bursh was brought to the yard visibly injured shortly before his death. In many cases, including 21 individuals from Gaza, PHRI was unable to match the few details provided by authorities (site of death, date) to a recorded name, meaning the fate of many detainees remains unknown to their families.