Pressure Builds Over Israel’s Treatment of Palestinian Prisoners

Israeli groups and former detainees report violence, medical neglect, and starvation at Lavi prison and other Israeli prisons since the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attack.

Auditors from Israel's Ministry of Justice and UN agencies found beatings during transfers, starvation, and autopsies showing assault, neglect, and malnutrition.

The Wall Street Journal interviewed a dozen Palestinians released since 2024 who described physical abuse, stress positions, beatings, and severe hunger; two reported sexual assault.

Physicians for Human Rights Israel visited 59 detainees since February, with all reporting insufficient food and medical treatment.

About 9,300 Palestinians are in Israeli custody for alleged security offenses, up from about 5,200 before the war, according to Hamoked.