A humanitarian drama and a threat to international law
The Israeli government’s ban on International Red Cross visits to Palestinian prisoners since October 2023 has opened a profound wound in human rights, transparency, and respect for international treaties. This report reveals the context, consequences, and voices that denounce the isolation, torture, and helplessness of thousands of inmates, with special emphasis on the suffering of Palestinian children.
The Red Cross ban on Palestinian prisoners
Since October 7, 2023, the Israeli government, pressured by far-right sectors, withdrew authorization for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to make humanitarian visits to Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails. This unprecedented policy of isolation affects both adults and hundreds of detained minors. The ICRC has repeatedly stated it is ready to access detention centers and expand humanitarian assistance, but the Israeli response has been negative, citing security arguments and blocking access to information about detainees’ conditions.
The ICRC’s role is grounded in the 1949 Geneva Conventions, ratified by Israel, which guarantee the right of visit and humanitarian assistance for all prisoners in armed conflicts. The ban is an explicit breach of these treaties, which require Red Cross visits and access to medical and family records. The deliberate deprivation of these guarantees is not only a violation of multilateral treaties, but may also constitute an international crime of inhumane treatment of prisoners.
Quoting the Red Cross – context and official accusations
ICRC President Mirjana Spoljaric declared in August 2025: “The margin to save lives in Gaza and in detention centers is increasingly narrow. This is the time to act, to respect the most basic rules of international humanitarian law, and to alleviate the suffering of detainees and their families.” The ICRC stresses that its role is limited to facilitating specific releases under political agreements, never negotiated by the organization itself, and warns that limiting its supervisory function enables concealment of abuses and denial of essential medical aid.
Only a lasting agreement between the parties can end the suffering of detainees and their families. Guaranteeing unimpeded ICRC access to all detention sites is not a political concession, it is a basic obligation under international humanitarian law.
International pronouncement – Laws violated and criminal classification
Israel’s refusal of international inspection violates at least three sets of norms:
– The Geneva Conventions, which govern conflict and occupation, explicitly forbid preventing detainees from contact with the ICRC.
– The Convention on the Rights of the Child prohibits arbitrary detention, prolonged isolation, and torture or ill-treatment of minors.
– The Rome Statute classifies forced transfer, torture, deprivation of medical aid, and absence of international supervision as war crimes.
The International Court of Justice (ICJ), in an advisory opinion, described the policy of systematic discrimination and blockade—including the prison system—as apartheid and racial persecution, imposing obligations on signatory States to act.
From law to reality – testimonies and evidence
Despite the information blockade, reports of torture, cruel treatment, starvation, isolation, and sexual violence continue to emerge through alternative channels:
– Statements by former prisoners, who describe beatings, use of splints, threats, sleep deprivation, and solitary confinement.
– Medical reports documenting scars, psychological aftereffects, and irreversible damage from lack of medical treatment.
– Clandestine photos and videos, audiovisual testimonies, and leaks following the release of hostages and Palestinian prisoners.
– Reports by NGOs such as Addameer, B’Tselem, and Defence for Children International, which analyze patterns of ill-treatment and systematic violence.
The latest Human Rights Watch world report and the joint Addameer-ICRC report confirm the existence of beatings, deprivation of food, indiscriminate use of administrative detention, sexual torture, and invasive surgery without anesthesia. It is reported that dozens of Palestinians have died in custody and an undetermined number of corpses have been held by Israel.
The case of Palestinian minors – between torture and invisibility
The gravest chapter is the treatment of Palestinian children in Israeli jails, addressed by the “2025-2030 Roadmap” of Defence for Children International, the HRW report, and UN debates. Between 500 and 700 Palestinian minors have been detained annually, with no legal guarantees, subjected to blindfolding, shackling, isolation, sleep deprivation, violence, and threats against their families.
Administrative detentions of minors have quadrupled in a year; more than a third are in this situation, with no charges or family contact. Reports and testimonies from released children, collected by lawyers and humanitarian intermediaries, abound in descriptions of physical abuse, threats, deprivation of water and food, sexual offenses, and the use of fear as an intimidation tool. UN rapporteurs state: “The dehumanization of Palestinian children is the most violent form of denying their right to exist and to ask for help.” Childhood trauma is profound: nightmares, anxiety, emotional regression, loss of schooling, and persistent fear.
These complaints are gathered through post-release interviews, medical reports, and the limited access of lawyers and independent organizations, given the total exclusion of the Red Cross. The collective trauma is immense and protection nearly nonexistent.
The global risks of disregarding treaties and defending the ICRC
Israel’s ban on the Red Cross and normalization of isolation is the very denial of international humanitarian law. Permitting unchecked prisons enables crime and undermines the global protective architecture created after World War II. Ignoring the ICRC’s role and the Geneva Conventions erodes the legitimacy of all protocols and exposes populations to mass deportations, hidden extermination, and systematic torture.
Unconditional defense of ICRC access and international monitoring is not a favor, but the minimum safeguard against abuse of power, torture, and disappearance. It is the only true protection for children in conflict situations, whose future depends on international oversight.
More than just the fate of thousands of Palestinians is at stake—so is the survival of international law and the system of guarantees built from historical lessons.
For a world with law, memory, and international vigilance
The case of Palestinian prisoners and the ban on the Red Cross is the highest alert on what happens when the global community is silent and allows unchecked power. International law and the voice of the Red Cross are the line between barbarity and civilization. Defending them, demanding access, and holding perpetrators accountable is not an act of political solidarity but of basic humanity and collective historical memory.”