Palestinian Detainee Dies in Israeli Custody Amid Allegations of Medical Neglect

A Palestinian detainee from the Gaza Strip has died while in Israeli custody, with prisoners’ advocacy groups accusing Israeli prison authorities of deliberate medical negligence.

In a statement released on Monday, Palestinian prisoners’ rights organizations announced that Hamzeh Adwan died in an Israeli hospital after his health significantly deteriorated during his detention. The groups said Adwan had been transferred for treatment only after his condition reached a critical stage.

Advocacy organizations held Israeli prison authorities fully responsible for Adwan’s death and called on the international community to intervene to protect Palestinian detainees held in what they described as illegal detention facilities under Israeli occupation.

Rights groups have reported a sharp escalation in violations against Palestinians detained in Israeli prisons, citing worsening conditions that include denial of medical care, mistreatment, and overcrowding. These conditions, they say, have contributed to a growing number of deaths in custody.

According to Palestinian sources, more than 100 Palestinian detainees have died in Israeli custody since October 2023. Many detainees from Gaza are reportedly still subjected to enforced disappearance, with families and legal representatives denied information about their whereabouts or conditions.

In November, Israel released nearly 2,000 Palestinian detainees, including approximately 1,700 from Gaza, as part of a ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement with the Hamas resistance movement. Former detainees released under the agreement described severe health deterioration and recounted experiences of torture, starvation, and humiliation during their imprisonment.

Human rights organizations estimate that more than 10,000 Palestinians, including women and children, remain detained in Israeli prisons. Both Palestinian and Israeli rights groups have warned that ongoing medical neglect and harsh detention conditions continue to pose serious risks to detainees’ lives.