2 Palestinian detainees from Gaza die in Israeli prisons: Rights groups

ISTANBUL

Two Palestinian detainees from Gaza died in Israeli custody, according to prisoners’ affairs groups on Sunday.

Mohammad Abdel Rahman Idrees, 35, died in Ofer Prison, west of Ramallah on Friday, after he was reported missing on Aug. 25, 2024, said a joint statement by the Palestinian Commission of Detainees’ Affairs, the Palestinian Prisoner Society, and the Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association.

The second detainee was identified as Muaz Khaled Rayan, 31, without giving details about where he died. The statement said Rayan, who suffered from complete paralysis before his arrest on Oct. 21, 2024, had died on Nov. 2.

According to the statement, at least 47 detainees have died in Israeli custody since Oct. 7, 2023.
“The catastrophic conditions facing detainees, especially the sick and injured, will cause more to die in Israeli prisons and camps,” the statement said.

The Israeli army has detained over 11,900 Palestinians since last October, according to Palestinian figures. The figure, however, doesn't include those arrested from the Gaza Strip whose numbers are estimated to be in the thousands.

Israel has launched a genocidal war on the Gaza Strip following a cross-border attack by the Palestinian group Hamas in October last year, killing nearly 44,400 people, most of them women and children, and injuring over 105,000.

On Nov. 21, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its deadly war on Gaza.

* Writing by Ikram Kouachi