9,900 detainees languish in Israeli jails, including 3,498 held under administrative detention, 27 women, at least 400 children
As of early April, 9,900 Palestinian detainees are still languishing in Israeli jails amid escalating reports of torture, abuses, and unprecedented violations against them that have increased since the start of Israel's genocidal war on Gaza in October 2023.
Marking the Palestinian Prisoner's Day, the Palestinian Prisoner Society on Thursday highlighted the harsh situation the Palestinian detainees, including women and children, are experiencing in Israeli jails amid a lack of effective oversight by rights groups.
- Palestinian detainees in numbers
Before the start of the Israeli war on Gaza in October 2023, there were around 5,250 Palestinian detainees in Israeli jails, including 1,320 held under administrative detention without charge or trial, 40 women and 170 children.
However, the numbers sharply increased reaching -- as of early April -- 9,900 detainees, including 3,498 held under administrative detention, 27 women and at least 400 children.
- Detainees from Gaza
In the course of the Israeli war on Gaza, the Israeli army arrested thousands of Palestinians whom Israel has forcibly disappeared in its prisons and army facilities.
As Israel refuses to disclose any information about their numbers or arrest conditions, leaked information from these prisons documented harsh conditions, torture, and violations, including lack of proper food and health treatment.
- Increased deaths inside Israeli jails
According to Palestinian figures, at least 64 Palestinian detainees have died in Israeli captivity since October 2023, including at least 40 from Gaza.
Palestinian authorities estimate that at least 301 Palestinian prisoners have died in Israeli prisons since Tel Aviv's occupation of the West Bank and Gaza in 1967.
Over 51,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza in a brutal Israeli onslaught since October 2023, most of them women and children.
The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants last November for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.
