A 21-year-old Palestinian who had been held in administrative detention since late last year died at Ofer Prison, the Palestinian Commission of Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs and the Palestinian Prisoners Club announced on Wednesday. Lawyers and relatives of Moataz al-Atrash, who was arrested on October 5, said that he did not suffer from any health problems prior to his arrest.
The groups blamed Israeli authorities for his death, adding that 92 Palestinian prisoners and detainees have died in custody since the beginning of the war in the Gaza Strip. According to the groups, the actual death toll is higher, but the lack of information regarding dozens of detainees makes it difficult to gather data. The Israel Prison Service has not yet responded.
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Moataz al-Atrash Credit: Palestinian Prisoners Club
Moataz al-Atrash Credit: Palestinian Prisoners Club
According to the two Palestinian groups, prisons and detention facilities systematically mistreat Palestinian prisoners and detainees, who are tortured, starved, subjected to physical and sexual violence and medical neglect, alongside harsh detention conditions that allow infectious diseases such as scabies to spread. They noted the limited access of human rights organizations and humanitarian bodies, including the International Committee of the Red Cross, to the detention facilities.
The organizations urged the international community and human rights groups to urge Israel to stop the abuse of prisoners, investigate the circumstances of their deaths and guarantee international supervision of detention conditions.
Data published by the Palestinian prisoner institutions indicate that as of early September 2026, approximately 9,350 Palestinian prisoners and detainees are held in Israeli prisons, including 90 women and more than 350 minors.
Of those, 3,176 are held in administrative detention without charges or trial. An additional 1,393 are held under the Internment of Unlawful Combatants Law, most of whom are detainees from Gaza. The organizations noted that this figure does not include all detainees from the Strip held in military-run facilities but does include detainees from Lebanon and Syria.