The International Committee of the Red Cross says discussions are underway with Israeli authorities to restore access to Palestinian prisoners held inside Israeli detention facilities, following a landmark ruling by Israel’s highest court declaring the long-standing ban on visits unlawful.

Speaking from Gaza, Red Cross spokesperson Amani Al-Naouq confirmed that the organisation is prepared to immediately resume its monitoring work inside Israeli prisons after being blocked from carrying out visits since October 2023, during the ongoing genocidal war on Gaza. She stressed that private meetings with detainees and independent inspections of prison conditions remain essential obligations under international humanitarian law and the Fourth Geneva Convention.

The decision by the Israeli Supreme Court has been widely viewed by rights advocates as a rare legal rebuke of policies imposed throughout the genocide in Gaza. Judges reportedly concluded that the Israeli government had failed, for more than two years, to provide any credible legal justification for preventing Red Cross representatives from contacting Palestinian prisoners or relaying information about them to their families.

Human rights organisations had repeatedly warned that the prohibition deepened the isolation of detainees and removed one of the few remaining channels of independent oversight inside detention centres. Legal groups challenging the restrictions argued that the policy formed part of a broader system of collective punishment and enforced isolation targeting Palestinian prisoners during the genocidal war.

The ruling followed a prolonged legal challenge submitted by several rights organisations, which accused Israeli authorities of systematically obstructing humanitarian monitoring. The Red Cross described the judgment as a positive and important reminder of the organisation’s internationally recognised role in ensuring that detainees are treated in accordance with humanitarian law standards.