The deaths of three more Palestinian detainees from Gaza have been confirmed by Israeli authorities, raising to 69 the number of Palestinians killed in Israeli custody since the beginning of the war—44 of them from Gaza alone.

Human rights organisations, including Addameer, the Palestinian Prisoners' Club, and the Commission for Detainees’ Affairs, revealed the names of the latest victims: Ayman Abdul Hadi Qdeih (56), who died just five days after his arrest on 7 October 2023; Bilal Talal Salama (24), arrested in March 2024 and killed in August; and Mohammed Ismail Al-Astal (46), detained in February and pronounced dead in early May.

These groups accuse Israel of operating a “machine of organised crimes” against Palestinian prisoners, where detainees—especially those from Gaza—are subjected to daily torture, starvation, medical neglect, and sexual abuse. Recently released prisoners have spoken of unspeakable treatment, painting a grim picture of mass suffering in military camps and detention centres.

Israeli authorities refuse to disclose the full list of deceased detainees from Gaza, leaving families in anguish and uncertainty. In several cases, legal intervention was required just to confirm whether a prisoner was alive. The lack of transparency, the groups warn, is part of a wider pattern of abuse that could amount to war crimes.

As of May 2025, over 10,100 Palestinians remain imprisoned, including more than 400 children and 1,800 detainees from Gaza—many held under the ambiguous label of “unlawful combatants,” a classification that excludes those imprisoned in military camps.

Palestinian human rights defenders are calling once more for an urgent, independent international investigation into the deaths in custody and the broader system of abuse. Without pressure and accountability, they warn, more lives will be lost—silently, behind prison walls.