The number of Palestinians held in Israeli-run prisons has climbed beyond 9,500 in early March, according to figures released by Palestinian prisoner support organisations. The data point to a steady rise in detentions in recent weeks, reflecting a broad wave of arrest operations across the occupied Palestinian territories. Campaigners monitoring the situation say the expanding prison population illustrates an increasingly aggressive detention policy unfolding alongside the genocidal war on Gaza.

Among those imprisoned are dozens of women and several hundred children. Rights advocates report that many of the minors are being held in facilities such as Ofer and Megiddo prisons, raising continuing concerns about the treatment of young detainees within the military detention system. Legal groups warn that the incarceration of children remains a persistent feature of the occupation’s arrest practices.

A particularly striking element of the prison population is the growing reliance on administrative detention , a procedure allowing individuals to be held indefinitely without formal charges or trial. More than a third of those currently behind bars are detained under this measure. In addition, over a thousand prisoners have been labelled “unlawful combatants”, a classification applied to some detainees from Gaza as well as individuals from neighbouring countries.

Human rights advocates say prisoners are enduring deteriorating conditions inside the facilities, including reports of ill-treatment, food shortages and limited access to medical care. Since the genocidal war on Gaza began in October 2023, arrest raids across the occupied West Bank have intensified sharply, with tens of thousands of Palestinians detained during that period. Advocacy groups are urging international bodies to intervene, calling for stronger protection for prisoners and accountability over alleged abuses inside the prison system.