Three More Palestinian Prisoners Die under Torture in Israeli Prisons
DaysofPal- Palestinian human rights organizations have confirmed the deaths of three detainees from Gaza following official responses from Israeli authorities.
According to prisoners' rights groups, the Israeli army informed them of the deaths of Ayman Abdul Hadi Qdeih (56 years old),Bilal Talal Salama (24 years old),Mohammed Ismail Al-Astal (46 years old).
In a joint statement, the organizations said that Qdeih was arrested on October 7, 2023, and according to the army's reply, he died just five days later, on October 12, 2023.
Bilal Salama was arrested in March 2024 while fleeing from Khan Younis, and died on August 11, 2024, according to the military.
Al-Astal was detained on February 7, 2024, and died on May 2, 2025.
These deaths bring the total number of known prisoners and detainees killed since the beginning of the genocide to 69, including 44 from Gaza, and raise the overall death toll among Palestinian prisoners since 1967 to 306.
The organizations—which include the Commission for Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs, the Palestinian Prisoners' Club, and Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association, stated that Israel continues to conceal the identities of many deceased detainees from Gaza, making this period the deadliest in the history of the Palestinian prisoners' movement.
They added that the deaths of the three prisoners are part of the ongoing systemic brutality by Israel, describing the detention system as a 'machine of organized crime' working around the clock to kill prisoners. These acts constitute another face of the broader genocide.
The case of Gaza detainees remains one of the most horrific aspects of this war, with reports highlighting unprecedented crimes, including torture, starvation, medical neglect, and sexual abuse. Statements from recently released detainees from Gaza have detailed some of the most brutal and inhumane treatment occurring daily.
The groups noted that the Israeli military provides no further details about the circumstances of these deaths, only the date. They also revealed that Israeli authorities have repeatedly attempted to manipulate their responses, giving inconsistent information. In some cases, legal action had to be taken to force the army to confirm a prisoner's fate.
The organizations emphasized that thousands of prisoners are facing slow and deliberate death in Israeli prisons and military camps, where neglect and abuse lead to the spread of disease and worsening health conditions.
They stressed that torture, medical neglect, and starvation are the main causes behind these deaths, warning that unless these crimes stop, the number of victims will continue to rise. Time, they said, is now a decisive factor in the fate of these detainees.
The organizations held Israel fully responsible for the deaths and renewed their call for the international human rights community to open an independent investigation into the deaths of dozens of detainees since the beginning of the genocide and to take concrete steps to hold Israeli leaders accountable for war crimes.
As of early May 2025, the number of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails has surpassed 10,100, including 37 women, over 400 children, 3,577 administrative detainees, and 1,846 detainees from Gaza labeled by Israel as 'unlawful combatants'—a classification that does not include all Gaza detainees, particularly those held in military camps.
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