At least 94 Palestinians died in Israeli jails in two years, rights group says

A respected Israeli human rights group says at least 94 Palestinian prisoners and detainees have died in Israeli custody in less than two years.

A new report from Physicians for Human Rights in Israel (PHRI) says there is “systemic killing and cover-up.”

The report covers the period from October 7, 2023, when Hamas launched a deadly attack on Israel that triggered the latest conflict in Gaza, to August 31, 2025. The report said that in the previous 10 years, fewer than 30 Palestinians had died in Israeli custody.

The Israel Prison Service (IPS) told the BBC it “operates in accordance with the law and is subject to the supervision of official oversight bodies”.

The company said it does not comment on data or allegations from outside agencies.

“All prisoners are held in accordance with legal procedures and their rights, including access to health care, hygiene and adequate living conditions, are upheld by professionally trained staff,” IPS added.

Thousands of Palestinians have been detained across Gaza and the West Bank since October 7, 2023, many without charge.

PHRI said it revealed deeply concerning systematic human rights abuses against Palestinians detained by Israel and classified as “security prisoners.”

This is said to be part of the official policy implemented by the Israeli authorities since the beginning of the war.

Israeli authorities have stopped providing the Red Cross with information about detained Palestinians and have banned access to detention facilities.

PHRI said its report is based on official records and data cross-referenced with forensic reports, information from other human rights groups, efforts to find specific individuals and testimony from detainees, their families and lawyers.

The authors of the report said that 52 of the deceased were lodged in military prisons, while 42 were lodged in civilian prisons run by the IPS.

PHRI said the deaths were due to physical violence, medical neglect or both.

It singled out the policies of Itamar Ben Gvir, Israel’s right-wing national security minister and a key member of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition government.

PHRI said that under Ben-Gweil’s control, Israeli detention facilities housing Palestinians “have effectively been transformed into sites of torture and ill-treatment.”

It added that daily physical violence was common, the denial of human rights and systematic torture had led to the deaths of dozens of Palestinians.

The highest death toll, 29, occurred at the Stetman military prison in southern Israel near Gaza.

Five Israeli reservists were charged with aggravated abuse and inflicting grievous bodily harm after a Palestinian prisoner was allegedly beaten and stabbed in the rectum with a sharp object in July 2024 in Sde Teiman.

Video shows reservists pulling a detainee aside and surrounding him with riot shields before he is allegedly attacked. Five reservists deny the accusations and have not been named.

The alleged attack divided the country, with some right-wing politicians criticizing the military police investigation and even staging a number of “rape rights” protests outside the prison.

The PHRI report accuses Israeli authorities of trying to “cover up” and suppress investigations into Palestinian deaths and alleged abuses.

In many cases, families of detainees were not told their relatives had died and autopsies could not be performed, he said.

The report also said there was a failure to prosecute Israeli prison staff and soldiers.

It examines the so-called “enforced disappearance” policy through which thousands of Palestinians are detained without their families being notified or told where their relatives are being held.

PHRI said these “serious violations of international law” make it extremely difficult, if not impossible, to determine the full scope of Israel’s prisoner policy and the fate of many detained Palestinians.

The organization estimates that the actual number of Palestinians killed may be higher than the number it records.

“The claims described do not reflect the actions or procedures of the Israel Prison Service and we have no knowledge of the events described,” IPS said.

It continued: “Every death in IPS custody is examined in accordance with established procedures and handed over to the competent authorities as required.

“For reasons of privacy, security and legal restrictions, IPS does not provide personal or statistical details about prisoners, nor does it comment on individual cases.”

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it acted “in compliance with Israeli and international law” and “detains Gaza personnel when there are reasonable grounds to suspect that they are involved in terrorist activities”.

In some cases, criminal proceedings were subsequently initiated, while in other cases “preventive detention was carried out to remove individuals from combat, in full compliance with Israeli law and the Geneva Conventions,” the report said.

“The detention order and its duration are subject to judicial review in accordance with the law,” the statement added.

The IDF said it was aware of incidents of detainees dying in custody, but that these included detainees with illnesses or injuries, adding that each death was investigated by military police.