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Based on figures provided by Israel, at least 98 detainees from Palestine have died while detained since October 2023. A rights monitoring body operating from Israel has stated that the real number is probably significantly higher, due to many of missing people in Gaza.

Report Findings

An updated study documented casualties resulting from assault, medical neglect, and starvation. Researchers employed freedom of information requests, autopsy findings, and discussions with lawyers, advocates, next of kin, and witnesses.

Government bodies disclosed comprehensive data limited to the initial 240 days of the war. Over this period, government statistics show an historically high casualty rate among Palestinian prisoners, averaging a life lost once every four-day period.

Updated Statistics

Israeli defense forces finalized information on custodial deaths for May 2024, and correctional authorities during September 2024. Investigators documented an additional 35 deaths in detention subsequent to these dates and verified them with Israeli authorities.

Despite the total number of deaths documented being substantially larger than other recent estimates, it almost certainly fails to capture the entire scope of Palestinian casualties, according to the director of the detainee affairs unit.

“Although we are presenting proof for a greater figure of casualties than previously reported, this is not a full picture,” he stated. “We are sure that there are yet detainees who lost their lives in detention that we have not identified.”

Civilian Casualties

Classified Israeli data shows that the vast majority of Palestinian prisoners from Gaza who lost their lives in detention were civilians, based on a related investigation.

By May of the current year, a defense forces registry monitoring all militants in Gaza, a roster of in excess of 47,000 named individuals, documented just 21 fatalities in custody. At that time, 65 individuals from Palestine from Gaza had perished in prison.

Prison Situation

Brutality, mistreatment, and additional maltreatment of Palestinian individuals has been normalised across Israel’s prison network throughout the duration of war. Top government figures have publicly acknowledged starvation rations and an below-ground detention center holding Palestinian individuals who are kept in darkness.

Existing and previous inmates and informants from the Israeli military have collectively claimed widespread breaches of human rights protocols.

Institutionalized Cruelty

The institutionalised cruelty occurred alongside a alarming increase in fatalities registered across at least 12 detention centers in Israel. In the decade preceding the conflict, there were usually several casualties a year.

“This does not represent merely an isolated incident here and there. It is institutional and it is expected to endure,” an official said, partially since there is a environment of almost complete immunity for killing and mistreating detainees.

Only a single instance of assaulting prisoners has proceeded to court, with the soldier handed a punishment to 210 days. An attempt to charge others over a vicious assault including sexual violence caused political demonstrations and the arrest of Israel’s senior defense attorney, with the alleged perpetrators now insisting that allegations against them be withdrawn.

Absence of Consequences

“Despite this mass number of fatalities, over two years not one individual has been arrested,” the official noted. “There have been no indictments over any death.

“As long as these policies continue to be enforced, all Palestinian detainees in detention faces risk, even the healthy ones, including the young ones who have no medical issues.”

High-Profile Cases

Some deaths in confinement have been widely reported, including a senior healthcare leader who perished in confinement after a third of a year in custody.

An inmate incarcerated with the individual reported that he was led to the yard by correctional officers shortly before his demise, clearly wounded and naked from the hips downward. His corpse remains unreleased to Gaza.

Additional detainees who lost their lives in confinement by Israeli authorities remain anonymous. Detention administrators and military provided analysts with the number of deaths in confinement, and limited further data including the facility where they perished, but excluding the detainees’ identities.

Identification Challenges

Regarding 21 occurrences, mainly individuals from Gaza, investigators were not able to connect the minimal data given by officials to a death registered by rights organisations, by means of testimony from former inmates or coverage in the media.

The inmates’ next of kin could be unaware about their loved ones’ deaths also, as Israel has created obstacles to monitor Palestinian individuals it is confining. Over half a year at the outset of the war, the defense forces declined to provide essential data about the status of numerous of individuals confined in Gaza, practically enacting a approach of involuntary missing persons, according to the rights monitoring body.

Limited Transparency

Starting in May 2024, authorities have provided an email address for requests about detainees from Gaza, but this has provided only a incomplete and restricted enhancement. Researchers noted|observed|commented on