Palestinian prisoner dies from torture in Israeli jail: Right groups

RAMALLAH, Palestine

A Palestinian prisoner from the Shejaiya neighborhood in the Gaza Strip died from torture he endured at the Sde Teiman detention center, a pair of prisoners affairs groups said Thursday.

Islam al-Sarsawi, 42, was arrested during a recent Israeli raid at the Al-Shifa Hospital. He died from torture at the Sde Teiman Israeli military camp, the Commission of Detainees’ Affairs and the Palestinian Prisoners Society said in a statement.

“Al-Sarsawi is among dozens of detainees who have lost their lives in Israeli prisons and detention camps. The Israeli authorities continue to conceal their identities,” it added.

The Israeli military previously stormed the Al-Shifa Medical Complex twice -- Nov. 16, following a week-long siege, and in March. The latter operation left the vital medical facility in ruins, resembling a mass grave.

The statement clarified that al-Sarsawi died in March but recent information confirmed his fate.

“He was arrested alongside many others during the initial raid on Al-Shifa Hospital, and their whereabouts remained undisclosed due to enforced disappearance,” said the prisoners' groups that indicated the number of inmates in Israeli prisons surpassed 9,900 -- a figure that does not include all detainees from Gaza.

Israel, flouting a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire, has faced international condemnation amid its continued brutal offensive on Gaza since an Oct. 7 attack by the Palestinian resistance group, Hamas.

Nearly 39,500 Palestinians have since been killed, mostly women and children, and over 91,000 injured, according to local health authorities.

Almost 10 months into the Israeli war, vast tracts of Gaza lie in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water and medicine.

Israel is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, which ordered it to immediately halt its military operation in the southern city of Rafah, where more than 1 million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war before it was invaded on May 6.

*Witting by Mohammad Sio​​​​​​​