Layan Bsharat and Tarek Chouiref
31 August 2026•Update: 31 August 2026
Israel has continued for a third year to conceal the fate and whereabouts of thousands of Palestinians detained from the Gaza Strip, Palestinian prisoners’ rights groups said Sunday, accusing authorities of widespread enforced disappearance.
The Commission of Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs, the Palestinian Prisoner Society, and Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association issued a joint statement marking the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances on Aug. 30.
The groups said Israel withholds detainees’ names, places of detention, and health information while preventing contact with families, lawyers, and rights organizations.
They described the practice as a systematic form of enforced disappearance that creates conditions for torture, mistreatment, and medical abuse.
The statement also decried broad restrictions on access to Palestinian detainees by lawyers, the International Committee of the Red Cross, and human rights groups.
The groups said no precise overall figure is available for Palestinians detained from Gaza because of difficulties documenting cases and determining the fate of detainees and missing people.
They said they have tracked the cases of thousands of Gaza detainees over the past three years, while Israeli authorities have often responded to inquiries by claiming information is unavailable.
The groups accused Israel of subjecting Gaza detainees to torture, mistreatment, and denial of medical care, saying dozens have died in prisons and detention camps.
UN, international bodies urged to take action
At least 53 detainees from Gaza whose identities are known have died in Israeli custody since October 2023, out of 99 Palestinian detainees known to have died during the same period, according to the statement.
Israel is also withholding the bodies of Palestinians from Gaza, including detainees who died in prisons and detention facilities, the groups said.
They called on the UN and international community to take action to determine the fate of Palestinian detainees, launch independent investigations into enforced disappearance, torture, and deaths in custody, and press Israel to return withheld bodies.
Since late 2022, far-right Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir has pushed for harsher conditions for Palestinian prisoners, including restrictions on food and medical care, while Palestinian and Israeli rights groups have documented allegations of torture and prolonged isolation.
Around 9,500 Palestinians are currently held in Israeli prisons, including 94 women and more than 350 children, according to Palestinian prisoners’ rights groups.