The Palestinian Prisoners’ Club, a human rights organisation, has reported that six Palestinian prisoners have died in Israeli detention since the beginning of 2025, citing systematic torture, medical neglect, and inhumane treatment as the primary causes. The group described the current period as the bloodiest in the history of Palestinian detainees since 1967, with the death toll highlighting the severe conditions faced by prisoners under Israeli occupation.  

In a press statement, the organisation condemned the “brutal oppression and persecution” faced by Palestinian prisoners, urging immediate international intervention to halt violations of their basic human rights. The latest victim, Raafat Adnan Abu Fanouna, 33, from Gaza, died in Ramla prison on 26 February. Other prisoners who lost their lives include Khaled Mahmoud Abdullah, 41, who died in Megiddo prison on 23 February, and Ali Ashour Al-Batsh, 61, who passed away in the Negev desert prison on 21 February.  

Earlier in January, three other prisoners—Mohammed Yassin Jaber, 22; Moataz Mohammed Abu Zneid, 35; and Musab Hani Abu Haniyeh—also died in custody. By the end of February 2025, the total number of Palestinian prisoners who have died in Israeli prisons since the start of the ongoing war on Gaza has risen to 60, with at least 39 of them from Gaza.  

The Prisoners’ Club and the Prisoners’ Affairs Commission noted that since 1967, at least 297 Palestinian prisoners have died in Israeli detention, with dozens of detainees from Gaza still forcibly disappeared. Currently, Israel holds over 9,500 Palestinian prisoners, including 21 women and 350 children, in its prisons and detention centres.  

In a related issue, the National Campaign to Recover the Bodies of Martyrs revealed that Israeli authorities are withholding the bodies of 665 Palestinian martyrs in numbered graves and morgues, some for decades. Among them are 259 killed since the start of the Gaza offensive, 67 former prisoners, 9 women, and 59 children under 18.  

The Palestinian Prisoners’ Club has called for urgent global action to address what it describes as “crimes against humanity” committed by the Israeli occupation, emphasising the need to hold Israel accountable for its treatment of Palestinian detainees.