A Minimum of 98 Palestinian Detainees Have Died in Israeli Custody Starting From October 2023, Israeli Data Indicates

Per information provided by Israel, no fewer than 98 Palestinian individuals have died while detained since October 2023. A rights monitoring body based in Israel has stated that the real number is likely significantly higher, because of many of missing people in Gaza.

Report Findings

A new investigation documented deaths attributed to assault, lack of healthcare, and malnutrition. Investigators used transparency petitions, autopsy findings, and discussions with lawyers, activists, next of kin, and witnesses.

Israeli authorities disclosed comprehensive statistics limited to the first eight months of the hostilities. Throughout these months, government statistics reveal an record death toll among detained Palestinians, averaging one death every four days.

Updated Statistics

Official armed forces most recently revised records on detention fatalities for May 2024, and detention administration during September 2024. Investigators identified an additional 35 deaths in confinement subsequent to these timeframes and validated them with Israeli authorities.

Despite the total number of deaths recorded being substantially larger than previous assessments, it almost certainly does not reflect the full scale of Palestinian loss, as stated by the head of the prisoners and detainees department.

“Although we are offering documentation for a larger total of deaths than once estimated, this is not the entire story,” he said. “We are confident that there are still detainees who perished in detention that we have not identified.”

Civilian Deaths

Confidential official information indicates that the vast majority of incarcerated Palestinians from Gaza who perished in jail were ordinary citizens, per a simultaneous investigation.

During May of the current year, a defense forces registry following all fighters in Gaza, a roster of over 47,000 identified persons, recorded only 21 deaths in confinement. At that time, 65 Gazans from Gaza had perished in prison.

Custodial Environment

Assault, torture, and additional maltreatment of Palestinians has been normalised across Israel’s detention facilities over two years of hostilities. Senior officials have publicly acknowledged inadequate food and an subterranean prison holding Palestinian individuals who are denied sunlight.

Existing and previous prisoners and insiders from the defense forces have collectively claimed widespread breaches of international law.

Institutionalized Cruelty

The systematic abuse occurred alongside a alarming increase in casualties recorded across a minimum of 12 detention centers in Israel. During the previous decade before the hostilities, there were usually several fatalities a year.

“This isn’t merely an isolated incident sporadically. It is systemic and it will continue,” a representative commented, partly because there is a climate of virtual exemption from consequences for harming and abusing detainees.

Only a single instance of attacking detainees has reached litigation, with the military personnel sentenced to seven months. An effort to charge additional individuals over a brutal attack featuring abuse resulted in public rallies and the arrest of Israel’s top military lawyer, with the suspects now insisting that charges against them be dismissed.

Lack of Accountability

“In spite of this mass number of deaths, throughout the conflict not a single person has faced arrest,” the spokesperson noted. “There have been no indictments over any death.

“While these measures continue to be enforced, every Palestinian in detention faces risk, even the physically well individuals, even the juveniles who have no health problems.”

High-Profile Cases

Several casualties in custody have been publicly known, for instance a senior healthcare leader who died in detention after four months in custody.

A detainee incarcerated with the victim reported that he was led to the yard by guards immediately preceding his death, obviously hurt and naked from the lower body. His corpse has not been returned to Gaza.

Further inmates who died in confinement by Israeli authorities stay unnamed. Correctional authorities and armed services gave analysts with the figure of fatalities in custody, and limited other details such as the location where they perished, but not the prisoners’ names.

Identification Challenges

Regarding 21 occurrences, primarily detainees from Gaza, researchers were unable to correlate the minimal data given by government bodies to a casualty documented by advocacy bodies, either through accounts from freed prisoners or accounts in the media.

The inmates’ next of kin may not know about their loved ones’ deaths also, as Israel has impeded efforts to monitor detainees it is detaining. Over half a year at the outset of the war, the armed services would not provide to provide fundamental details about the condition of many of people detained in Gaza, in effect implementing a approach of involuntary missing persons, per the rights monitoring body.

Limited Transparency

Beginning last May, officials have provided an electronic contact for enquiries about Palestinian individuals from Gaza, but this has led to just a partial and limited betterment. Analysts noted|observed|commented on