Israeli authorities have significantly expanded the use of administrative detention, with over 7,700 new or renewed orders issued in 2025 alone, according to prisoner rights groups. Since 7 October 2023, more than 17,000 orders have been imposed without formal charges, marking an unprecedented escalation. Today, around 3,400 Palestinians are held under such measures, nearly 35 percent of Israel’s total prison population of roughly 9,500, compared with approximately 1,300 detainees prior to the outbreak of the genocidal war in Gaza. Many face open-ended detention that can be repeatedly renewed for years.

The policy has affected all segments of Palestinian society, including minors as young as 14, women prisoners, elected officials, mayors, activists, and students. Authorities have also re-arrested previously released prisoners or transferred them to administrative detention immediately after completing their sentences. Prisoners from Gaza are increasingly designated as “unlawful combatants,” a category now applied to more than 1,200 detainees. Human rights groups warn that this label is systematically used to bypass international law and allow enforced disappearances.

Administrative detention relies on secret intelligence files held by the Shin Bet, leaving prisoners without access to a fair trial or an effective defense. The policy has already had fatal consequences: at least 11 detainees have died in custody, most recently Sakher Zaoul, amid reports of medical neglect and systematic attrition. Rights organisations stress that the ongoing expansion of these practices constitutes a major breach of international standards and a tool of repression within the broader context of the genocidal war in Gaza.