Palestinians are marking Prisoners’ Day this year amid growing warnings over an unprecedented escalation in abuses inside Israeli occupation prisons, where more than 9,600 Palestinian detainees are currently being held, including around 350 children and 86 women.
Palestinian prisoners’ groups also say at least 1,251 Palestinians abducted from Gaza are being held under Israel’s so-called “unlawful combatants” classification, excluding others held in military camps.
Observed annually on April 17, Palestinian Prisoners’ Day was first established in 1974 to commemorate and designate a day to advocate for the freedom of detainees and their role in the Palestinian national struggle.
In recent years, the day has become synonymous with raising awareness over the systematic abuses of human rights and brutalities that Palestinians unjustly face in Israeli prisons.
Torture, starvation, and medical neglect
Palestinian rights organisations say the prisoners’ file has entered one of its most dangerous phases, with detainees facing torture, starvation, medical neglect, solitary confinement and systematic abuse, particularly since the start of the genocidal war on Gaza.
Recent reporting by Palestinian institutions states that the number of sick prisoners has risen sharply, with many suffering from pre-existing illnesses, untreated injuries, or diseases caused by harsh detention conditions and denial of care.
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The issue is especially acute for Palestinians abducted from Gaza, many of whom have been subjected to incommunicado detention without charge or trial.
Amnesty International has documented torture and enforced disappearance in cases involving Gazans held under Israel’s Unlawful Combatants Law, while B’Tselem has described the Israeli prison system as a network of torture camps where Palestinians are subjected to severe, systematic mistreatment.
Among the most prominent detainees is Dr Hussam Abu Safiya, director of Kamal Adwan Hospital, who was abducted by Israeli forces during the raid on the hospital in late December 2024. Amnesty says he is being arbitrarily detained, while Palestinian health authorities have repeatedly demanded his immediate release along with other detained medical staff. Reuters also reported that Israeli forces detained more than 240 Palestinians during that raid, including medical workers.
Treatment of Palestinian detainees worsens
International concern over the treatment of Palestinian detainees has intensified in recent months. In March 2026, a UN expert warned that torture had become a “state doctrine” in Israel’s treatment of Palestinians, while the UN human rights system has continued to raise alarm over widespread torture, sexual violence, administrative detention and the withholding of prisoners’ bodies.
Palestinian prisoner groups say 326 prisoners have died in Israeli custody since 1967, including 89 since the start of the war on Gaza, while the bodies of 97 martyred prisoners are still being withheld.
The crisis is unfolding alongside renewed warnings over Israeli legislative efforts targeting Palestinian detainees, including proposals related to the execution of prisoners, which rights groups say would mark a further grave escalation against Palestinians held by the occupation.
The Prisoners’ Execution Law passed by the Israel Knesset on March 30 has significantly worsened the concerns that humanitarian organisations have for the already bleak situation for the prisoners.
Under the new law, Palestinians convicted by Israeli military courts in the West Bank, or in civillian courts for attacks interpreted as “negating the existence of the state of Israel,” would by default face the death penalty.
Palestinian institutions and solidarity groups have called for urgent international action to protect detainees, reveal the fate of the disappeared, secure the release of the sick and wounded, and hold Israeli occupation prison authorities accountable for ongoing crimes against Palestinian prisoners.
