Day after day, further evidence continues to emerge of the atrocities of the ongoing genocide that has relentlessly claimed the lives of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. These crimes are no longer confined to the geographical boundaries of Gaza but have extended into Israeli prisons, which the occupying authorities have transformed into sites of death and brutal torture. The grave concern for the lives of Palestinian detainees is further exacerbated by the Israeli authorities' continued policy of withholding information and excluding international monitoring bodies from accessing and following up on the conditions of Palestinian detainees in Israeli prisons. This deliberate lack of transparency strongly indicates the commission of serious violations of international law that the occupying authorities seek to conceal.
Reports continue to surface intermittently regarding deaths inside Israeli detention facilities, the causes of which remain undisclosed. However, testimonies obtained by Al Mezan's lawyer during visits to several Palestinian detainees revealed unprecedented and brutal patterns of torture and ill-treatment, raising serious concerns that these deaths may have resulted from direct killings or torture leading to death.
According to Al Mezan Center for Human Rights' monitoring of the conditions of Palestinian detainees and released prisoners, as well as information published by the Israeli newspaper Haaretz on Friday, 17 July 2026, the Israeli military has opened dozens of investigations into the deaths of Palestinian detainees while in custody. Nevertheless, none of these investigations has resulted in indictments against those responsible, despite the fact that most deaths occurred in military detention facilities equipped with permanent surveillance cameras and where numerous detainees were present as witnesses.
Data obtained through freedom of information requests submitted by human rights organizations indicate that, out of 57 criminal investigations opened into deaths in custody (56 Palestinians from Gaza and one Lebanese detainee), seven concerned fatal shooting incidents. In two of these seven cases, the military reportedly does not even know the date on which the incident occurred. Moreover, in the majority of the criminal investigations, the military failed to identify any suspects.
In a separate but related matter, the Israeli authorities continue to refuse the release of 43 Palestinian detainees from the Gaza Strip who have completed their prison sentences, some of which extended to ten years. Instead, they have been transferred to detention under the so-called "Unlawful Combatants Law," legislation that flagrantly violates the right to a fair trial by allowing detention without legal basis, without formal charges, and without affording detainees the opportunity to defend themselves. Under this law, detention orders are renewed every six months indefinitely. It should be recalled that the Israeli Knesset enacted the Unlawful Combatants Law in March 2002, and since 2005 it has been applied exclusively to detainees from the Gaza Strip. Through this practice, Israel is not only holding Palestinians hostage but also treating them as human test subjects amid the continued silence of the international community.
Al Mezan Center for Human Rights affirms that the continued detention of Palestinian prisoners who have completed their sentences constitutes arbitrary and unlawful deprivation of liberty in violation of international law, particularly international standards relating to fair trial guarantees.
Al Mezan further considers that the closure of investigations into the deaths of Palestinian detainees without indictments or judicial accountability demonstrates Israel's deliberate policy of circumventing the complementary jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court by conducting sham investigations designed to shield perpetrators from accountability. This reinforces the long-standing position advanced by Al Mezan and other Palestinian and Israeli human rights organizations that the Israeli judicial system is complicit in crimes committed by Israeli authorities and lacks the fundamental requirements of judicial independence, particularly impartiality, integrity, and effectiveness. Such practices further entrench the culture of impunity, increase the likelihood of further crimes, and intensify concerns for the lives of Palestinian detainees held in Israeli prisons.
Al Mezan Center for Human Rights strongly condemns these Israeli violations and crimes and reiterates its call on the international community to fulfil its legal and moral responsibilities toward those responsible for committing and ordering these crimes. Al Mezan urgently calls upon international bodies mandated to ensure respect for and enforcement of international law to take immediate action, particularly by establishing independent and impartial investigations into the deaths of Palestinian detainees, adopting effective measures to halt the ongoing pattern of Israeli violations, guaranteeing victims' rights to effective remedy and reparation, and ensuring that perpetrators are held accountable and do not enjoy impunity.
