At least 75 Palestinians have died in Israeli detention since 7 October 2023 – UN Human Rights in Occupied Palestinian Territory

17 September 2025

Israeli authorities must urgently end the systematic torture and other ill-treatment of Palestinians held in their prisons and other places of detention and protect and ensure their right to life. Israeli authorities have deliberately imposed conditions of detention that amount to torture or other forms of ill-treatment and that have contributed to the deaths of detainees, while the culture of impunity and the denial of International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) access have predictably fostered extreme violence against Palestinians in Israeli jails.

Israeli authorities must immediately comply with the 7 September Israeli High Court of Justice decision ordering the State to improve the quantity and quality of food provided to Palestinian prisoners. The court confirmed that the conditions deliberately imposed by Israeli authorities fail to meet basic nutritional standards. The decision, however, is too late to save thousands of Palestinians from ill-treatment. Furthermore, the authorities have publicly refused to comply with the order. The Israeli authorities have also reportedly attempted to conceal reports prepared by the Public Defender’s Office regarding the treatment of Palestinian detainees and their conditions, citing national security concerns.

Between 7 October 2023 and 31 August 2025, at least 75 Palestinians, including a 17-year-old child, have died in Israeli detention (49 from Gaza, 24 from the West Bank and 2 Palestinian citizens of Israel), according to the UN Human Rights office in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. Israeli authorities have released information indicating the death of another 19 detainees, without sufficient details to enable the verification of their identity. In addition, at least 5 Palestinians, one of them a 16-year-old child, have died while in Israeli custody shortly after being shot by Israeli security forces, in some cases following a failure to ensure prompt medical attention after the unlawful use of lethal force.

Of the 75 deaths in detention, at least 22 detainees reportedly had health conditions requiring medical attention prior to their arrest, raising concerns that the denial of such medical care coupled with harsh detention conditions may have been calculated to contribute to their deaths. In at least 12 cases, we gathered testimonies or evidence in the form of autopsy reports that detainees died after being beaten or tortured by Israeli security forces.

We have documented the systematic torture and ill-treatment to which Israel has subjected Palestinian prisoners, including repeated beatings, waterboarding, stress positions, the use of rape and other sexual and gender-based violence and the imposition of deliberately inhumane conditions such as starvation and the denial of clean clothes, hygiene necessities and medical care.

Despite numerous calls for independent, thorough and transparent investigations, the only way to establish responsibilities and ensure accountability, the Israeli authorities have announced investigations into very few of the deaths, with no outcome known to date. Unless rebutted by investigations respecting international standards for each incident, Israel remains responsible for every single death in custody.

Meanwhile, Israeli authorities have subverted internationally recognised protections against torture, especially access to lawyers, family, and the ICRC, against the failure of Israeli courts to enforce the rights of prisoners. Israeli authorities continue to ban family visits and have imposed restrictions on lawyers’ access to detainees, subjecting interviews to surveillance, and prohibiting lawyers from sharing messages from their families.

Torture and other ill-treatment forms are a serious violation of international humanitarian law, and of international human rights law. They amount to war crimes and may, in certain circumstances, amount to a crime against humanity. Israel has the obligation to end all practices that amount to torture or other ill-treatment, and to protect all detainees against such practices, including by ensuring prisoners have regular access to their families, their lawyers, the courts and that independent bodies such as the ICRC conduct regular inspections of places of detention. Israel must protect and respect the right to life of all prisoners, and must provide access to adequate medical care, including to ensure that prisoners do not die from preexisting conditions.