At least 98 Palestinians have died in custody since October 2023, Israeli data shows

"Israeli data shows at least 98 Palestinians have died in custody since October 2023, and the real toll is likely substantially higher because hundreds of people detained in Gaza are missing, an Israel-based human rights group has said. Physicians for Human Rights Israel (PHRI) tracked deaths from causes including physical violence, medical neglect and malnutrition for a new report, using freedom of information requests, forensic reports and interviews with lawyers, activists, relatives and witnesses."

"Israeli authorities only provided comprehensive data for the first eight months of the war. Over this period official figures show an unprecedented casualty rate among Palestinian detainees, on average one death every four days. The military last updated data on deaths in detention for May 2024, and the Israel Prison Service (IPS) in September 2024. PHRI researchers identified another 35 deaths in detention after these dates and confirmed them with Israeli authorities."

"Classified Israeli data indicates the majority of Palestinian prisoners from Gaza who died in jail were civilians, according to a parallel investigation by the Guardian, the Israeli-Palestinian publication +972 Magazine and the Hebrew-language outlet Local Call. In May this year a military intelligence database tracking all Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad fighters in Gaza, a list of more than 47,000 named individuals, listed only 21 deaths in custody. By that point 65 Palestinians from Gaza had died in jail."

Physicians for Human Rights Israel (PHRI) documented at least 98 Palestinian deaths in custody since October 2023 from causes including physical violence, medical neglect and malnutrition. PHRI used freedom of information requests, forensic reports and interviews with lawyers, activists, relatives and witnesses. Israeli authorities provided comprehensive data only for the first eight months of the war, showing an average casualty rate of one detainee death every four days. Military updates stopped in May 2024 and the Israel Prison Service last updated figures in September 2024. PHRI identified 35 additional deaths after those updates and confirmed them. Classified records and parallel investigations indicate most Gaza detainees who died were civilians and hundreds of Gaza detainees remain missing.

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