RAMALLAH, Palestine

A prisoner advocacy group warned Wednesday of a “health disaster” among Palestinian detainees in the Israeli Megiddo Prison in northern Israel.

In a statement, the Palestinian Prisoner Society said it documented testimonies from freed prisoners and lawyers, who met with Palestinian detainees at the notorious detention camp.

According to the testimonies, scabies and other contagious diseases have spread among the detainees in the prison.

"Most detainees suffer from health problems and face difficult and tragic detention conditions," the statement said.

The advocacy group accused the Israeli prison authorities of deliberately depriving the Palestinian detainees of hygiene items that could limit the spread of diseases among them.

Palestinian authorities estimate that at least 63 Palestinian prisoners have died in Israeli prisons since the start of the Gaza war in October 2023. Figures also show that around 300 prisoners have lost their lives in Israeli custody since Israel’s occupation of the West Bank and Gaza in 1967.

Israeli daily Haaretz reported in October 2024 that systematic torture and abuse against Palestinian detainees remain widespread.

The report cited leaked documents from Megiddo Prison that detailed numerous instances of horrific attacks, including the use of dogs to humiliate detainees.