At least 98 Palestinians have lost their lives while detained by Israeli authorities since October 2023, according to official Israeli data. A human rights organization based in Israel reports the actual death toll is likely significantly higher, citing hundreds of missing detainees from Gaza.
The group, Physicians for Human Rights – Israel (PHRI), compiled these figures in a new report. Their research, which utilized freedom of information requests, forensic reports, and interviews, attributes the deaths to causes including physical violence, medical neglect, and malnutrition.
Official Israeli data, which was only comprehensively provided for the first eight months of the conflict, reveals an unprecedented casualty rate among detainees, averaging one death every four days. While the military last updated its figures in May 2024 and the prison service in September 2024, researchers have identified and confirmed an additional 35 deaths occurring after these dates.
Naji Abbas, who leads the prisoners and detainees department at PHRI, stated that even this elevated number does not represent the full picture. “We are sure that there are still people who died in detention that we don’t know about,” he said.
A separate investigation indicated that the majority of Gazan prisoners who died in custody were civilians. This contrasts with an Israeli military intelligence database from May 2024, which listed only 21 custodial deaths among more than 47,000 named individuals on a watchlist, despite 65 Gazans having already died in detention by that point.
The reported deaths include “security prisoners,” a classification that encompasses Gazan civilians held without charge or trial, as well as prisoners of conscience from the West Bank. Three of the deceased held Israeli citizenship or residency.
Allegations of systemic abuse, including physical violence and torture, have been leveled against the Israeli jail system. The report points to a dramatic increase in deaths across at least 12 detention facilities. Before the war, the average was two to three detainee deaths per year.
Abbas described the situation as “systemic,” attributing its persistence to a “culture of near total impunity.” Only one case of assaulting a detainee has gone to trial, resulting in a seven-month sentence for a soldier. Attempts to prosecute other serious assaults have faced significant political opposition.
“Despite this mass number of deaths, over two years no one has been arrested,” Abbas noted. “There have been no charges over any killing… every Palestinian in detention is in danger.”
Some cases have drawn international attention, such as the death of Dr. Adnan al-Bursh, the head of orthopaedics at al-Shifa hospital, who died in Ofer prison after four months in detention. A fellow prisoner testified that Dr. al-Bursh was brought into a yard shortly before his death, visibly injured and partially naked. His body has not been repatriated to his family.
Many others who have died remain anonymous, as Israeli authorities have provided death counts and locations but not the names of the deceased. For 21 individuals, mostly from Gaza, PHRI could not match the scant official details to any deaths recorded by rights groups or media, suggesting their families may be unaware of their fate.
Israel has been accused of making it extremely difficult to track detainees. For the first seven months of the war, the military refused to provide basic information on thousands of Gazans held in custody, a practice PHRI characterized as a policy of “forced disappearance.” An email address established in May 2024 for inquiries has provided only limited and partial improvements, with rights groups citing “continued failures and lack of transparency.”
Lawyers are frequently told there is no record of their clients’ arrests, even when the detentions are well-documented. One rights group, HaMoked, reported that over six months, Israeli authorities gave this response for approximately 400 individuals.
The case of Hussam Abu Safiya, a hospital director detained in December 2024, highlights the issue. The military initially denied holding him for a week, despite video evidence to the contrary. The PHRI report states that such refusals to provide clear information “provides substantial grounds to fear that many are no longer alive.”
Families are often left in agonizing uncertainty. The Alfaqawi family had to petition Israel’s high court to learn that Mounir Alfaqawi, 41, and his 18-year-old son Yassin had died in detention, after the military repeatedly claimed it had no record of holding them.
A ceasefire in mid-October led to the release of 250 convicted Palestinian prisoners and 1,700 Gazan detainees held without charge. However, it is estimated that at least 1,000 individuals remain in detention under the same indefinite conditions.
In statements, the Israeli military said it acts “in accordance with Israeli and international law” and investigates every detainee death. The Israel Prison Service stated it “examines” every death in custody and referred to the claims in the report as not reflecting its conduct, adding it was “not aware of the incidents as presented.”
