Almost 100 Palestinian prisoners have died in Israeli jails since October 2023, damning report claims
Nearly 100 Palestinian prisoners have died in custody since the start of the war in Gaza, according to a new report by a human rights group.
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The report, from Physicians for Human Rights - Israel (PHRI), claims prisoners are being denied medical care and are the victims of systematic and brutal violence.
The numbers are based on 94 documented cases between October 7, 2023, and August 2025.
The evidence is based on post-mortem findings released by families of the deceased, testimonies gathered by attorneys who visited the prisons and medical information obtained prior to some of the deaths.
It also stresses this figure is likely to be a significant underestimation and represents "only a portion of the full death toll."
"This unprecedented toll, together with extensive findings and evidence of deaths caused by torture and medical neglect, points to a deliberate Israeli policy of killing Palestinians in custody," the report reads.
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The report points to a systematic pattern of severe violence – including head trauma, internal hemorrhages, and broken ribs. Other cases expose grave medical neglect, including extreme malnutrition and the denial of life-saving care.
In one case, the report claims a prisoner died because the insulin, needed to treat diabetes, was withheld.
It also outlines the various ways it claims Israel has concealed these deaths and blocked efforts to carry outl investigation into how they happened.
The highest number of fatalities are alleged to have happened at the Sde Teiman detention centre, a facility located in the Negev Desert.
It further alleges that "the sharp rise in the number of Palestinians who have died in Israeli incarceration facilities since October 7, 2023, compared to previous years, demonstrates that the killing of Palestinians in custody has become an additional instrument of state against Palestinians oppression since the onset of the war".
The Israeli military told Sky News: "individuals in Gaza are detained when there is reasonable suspicion of their involvement in terrorist activities…and [if deemed necessary] are detained in designated facilities within Israeli territory".
Israel's prison service insists it operates within the confines of the law. The Israeli military said its rules around detention are "in full alignment with Israeli law and the Geneva Conventions".
Its statement continued: "The IDF is aware of incidents of deaths of detainees, including detainees who were detained with a pre-existing illness or injury as a result of the hostilities. As per standard protocol, an investigation is conducted for each death of a detainee by the military police.
"According to the law, every detainee held under a detention order is subject to judicial review. Every detainee has the right to be represented by a lawyer."
LBC has also approached the Israeli Prison Service for comment.
Yesterday, the UN Security Council has backed President Donald Trump's 20-point Gaza peace plan.
The plan says that an International Stabilisation Force (ISF) will be established to oversee the territory, but the proposals have reportedly been dismissed by Hamas.
At the UN, the resolution was backed by 13 countries including Britain, France and Somalia.
Permanent members of the council Russia and China abstained on the motion.
The conflict erupted when Hamas-led gunmen attacked Israel on October 7, 2023.
About 1,200 people were killed and 251 taken hostage in that attack.More than 69,483 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli military action in Gaza since then, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.