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Per data provided by Israel, a minimum of 98 Palestinians have lost their lives during detention starting from October 2023. An advocacy organization based in Israel has indicated that the real figure is almost certainly substantially larger, because of numerous of missing people in Gaza.

Study Results

An updated study documented fatalities resulting from brutality, failure to provide medical care, and starvation. Analysts utilized official data requests, medical examiner documents, and interviews with attorneys, human rights defenders, relatives, and observers.

Government bodies disclosed detailed data limited to the first eight months of the hostilities. During this time, government statistics show an record fatality rate among Palestinian detainees, equating to one death each 96 hours.

Recent Figures

The military last updated data on deaths in detention for May 2024, and the prison service in September 2024. Investigators documented another 35 deaths in detention after these timeframes and verified them with official sources.

Even with the overall count of deaths charted being much greater than other recent estimates, it probably fails to capture the entire scope of Palestinian casualties, as stated by the leader of the detainee affairs unit.

“Even though we are presenting proof for a larger total of casualties than earlier indicated, this is not a full picture,” he said. “We are confident that there are yet individuals who perished in confinement that we are unaware of.”

Civilian Deaths

Confidential official information indicates that the majority of incarcerated Palestinians from Gaza who lost their lives in jail were non-combatants, based on a parallel inquiry.

During May of 2024, a military intelligence database tracking all combatants in Gaza, a roster of more than 47,000 listed people, listed merely 21 deaths in confinement. At that time, 65 Palestinians from Gaza had lost their lives in jail.

Custodial Environment

Brutality, mistreatment, and additional maltreatment of detainees from Palestine has been normalised across Israel’s detention facilities throughout 24 months of war. Top government figures have publicly acknowledged starvation rations and an below-ground detention center confining detainees who are denied sunlight.

Existing and previous detainees and insiders from the Israeli military have all alleged systemic violations of global standards.

Institutionalized Cruelty

The institutionalised cruelty occurred alongside a disturbing rise in deaths recorded across at least 12 prison sites in Israel. In the decade prior to the hostilities, there were on average several casualties a year.

“This does not represent merely an isolated incident occasionally. It is institutional and it is expected to endure,” a spokesperson stated, in part since there is a climate of near total impunity for killing and mistreating Palestinians.

Merely one incident of attacking prisoners has reached litigation, with the military personnel handed a punishment to half a year. An attempt to charge additional individuals over a brutal attack involving assault caused public rallies and the detention of Israel’s chief legal officer, with the accused individuals now demanding that charges against them be withdrawn.

No Legal Action

“Regardless of this large quantity of deaths, throughout the conflict not a single person has been detained,” the spokesperson noted. “There have been no charges over any killing.

“During the time these policies are being applied, each Palestinian individual in custody is in danger, even the those in good health, including the youth who have no medical issues.”

Notable Incidents

Certain fatalities in custody have been high profile, including a 50-year-old healthcare leader who perished in confinement after four months in custody.

An inmate held with the victim testified that he was taken to the courtyard by correctional officers just prior to his death, visibly injured and exposed from the waist down. His corpse has not been returned to Gaza.

Additional detainees who perished in confinement by Israeli authorities are unidentified. Detention administrators and military provided researchers with the number of fatalities in detention, and basic other details including the site where they lost their lives, but not the inmates’ personal details.

Documentation Problems

In 21 cases, mainly detainees from Gaza, researchers were unable to match the limited information given by officials to a casualty registered by advocacy bodies, by means of testimony from freed prisoners or accounts in the media.

The detainees’ families could be unaware about their family members’ fatalities as well, as Israel has created obstacles to track Palestinians it is detaining. During 210 days at the outset of the war, the armed services would not provide to give basic information about the status of many of people held in Gaza, in effect carrying out a practice of forced disappearance, per the advocacy organization.

Insufficient Disclosure

Starting in May 2024, government bodies have created an email address for enquiries about Palestinian individuals from Gaza, but this has led to just a partial and limited betterment. Analysts noted|observed|commented on