20,000 Arrests Since the Start of the Mass Genocide War on Gaza

SadaNews - After two years of the onset of the comprehensive and escalating genocide war against our people in Gaza, and the extension of the all-out aggression against all Palestinian geographies, prisoners' institutions (the Commission of Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs, the Prisoners Club, and the Palestinian Center for Human Rights) present through a fact sheet an overview of the situation of prisoners after the genocide, including data and numbers, through which they attempt to reflect the continuing genocide within the prisons and detention centers of the Israeli occupation.

In the face of unprecedented escalation, the prisons of the occupation witness another face of genocide through the deliberate killing and execution of prisoners and detainees.

The toll of martyr prisoners whose identities have been announced since the start of the war has reached at least 77 martyrs, while dozens of Gaza detainees who were martyred remain missing.

This toll constitutes a damning testimony to one of the most brutal times in the history of our prisoner movement, which has resisted for decades against the prison system that aimed to physically and psychologically destroy the prisoner and eliminate them by all means.

Based on hundreds of documented testimonies, material evidence, and the public threats issued by the Minister of National Security in the extremist occupation government "Itamar Ben Gvir," the prisoners' institutions affirm that what is happening against the prisoners transcends grave violations to amount to "war crimes" and "crimes against humanity" that have been committed on a large scale and that the "Israeli" judicial system, including the Supreme Court, has provided cover for the continued barbarism against prisoners. This includes: crimes of torture, killing, theft, starvation, deliberate provocation of spreading diseases and epidemics, deprivation of treatment, and sexual assaults that have reached the level of rape, in addition to the policy of collective isolation. These practices, which aim at the systematic destruction of Palestinian prisoners both physically and psychologically, carry clear indications of an ongoing genocide perpetrated by the "Israeli occupation state" in its detention facilities.

The most prominent policies and violations documented by the institutions since the start of the genocide

The human rights institutions have documented an unprecedented escalation in the size and scope of the systematic crimes and violations being practiced on a broad scale against Palestinian prisoners and detainees since the start of the genocide. Among the most prominent of these crimes:

Torture in various physical and psychological forms.

Systematic starvation and deprivation of prisoners of adequate and balanced food.

Medical crimes including deprivation of treatment and imposition of conditions that lead to the spread of diseases and epidemics.

Collective isolation and policies of theft and deprivation that have affected every aspect of life in detention.

Systematic repression operations conducted by special units affiliated with the occupation prison administration, notably the "Kitar, Metzada, and Nahshon" units.

Violent physical assaults and the use of gas, sound bombs, and electric shock weapons.

Policies of humiliation and strip searches, and sexual assaults including rape.

Using illness as a torture tool, as in the case of the outbreak of scabies.

Psychological terrorism and solitary confinement, and threats of murder and liquidation.

In addition, arbitrary arrest policies have escalated, with new pretexts emerging to justify the arrest, most notably administrative detention which has formed a dangerous turning point, and arrest based on alleged incitement, in addition to classifying the majority of Gaza detainees as "unlawful combatants," which has opened the door to committing further grave violations against them.

And the policy of enforced disappearance against Gaza detainees.

A time of bloodshed in the history of the prisoner movement

The number of martyr prisoners who have been announced stands at 77 martyrs, who died as a result of torture, starvation, and deprivation of treatment, and these are only those whose identities have been revealed, while dozens of Gaza detainees who were martyred are still subject to enforced disappearance.

The occupation authorities are also holding the bodies of 85 prisoners who were martyred inside the prisons, including 74 since the start of the genocide war.

The total number of martyrs of the Palestinian prisoner movement since 1967 is estimated to be 314 martyrs, based on what the human rights institutions have been able to document over the past decades to date.

We affirm here that the claims of the occupation regarding opening "investigations" into the circumstances of the martyrdom of some prisoners, following requests for official inquiries from some human rights institutions, come only as a tactic of evasion and deception.

The case of Gaza detainees

The narratives and testimonies of Gaza detainees represented a turning point in understanding the level of barbarism practiced by the occupation system, revealing an unprecedented pattern of systematic torture crimes that began from the moment of arrest, through interrogation operations, and up to long periods of detention.

The methods of oppression and violation varied between physical and psychological torture, acts of maltreatment and starvation, and deliberate medical crimes, along with sexual assaults, all forming a complete picture of the policy of genocide within the prisons and camps.

These crimes have led to the martyrdom of dozens of detainees, in addition to field executions carried out by the occupation forces against others.

Official data indicate that human rights institutions have declared so far 46 martyrs from Gaza detainees, out of (77) prisoners and detainees who were martyred since the start of the genocide war, while the occupation continues to conceal dozens of Gaza detainee martyrs.

It is also noted that the occupation authorities have established a number of camps and special sections within the prisons to detain Gaza detainees, the most prominent of which is the "Sde Teiman" camp, which has become the main site of torture and murder crimes, and the "Rakefet" section located underground in the "Ramle" prison, which is a glaring example of enforced disappearance and systematic torture practices, knowing that the overwhelming majority of Gaza detainees that the prison administration has acknowledged are classified as "unlawful combatants," which is one of the most prominent laws that enshrined torture crimes against Gaza detainees.

About 20,000 Arrests in the West Bank Including Jerusalem Since the Start of the Genocide War

The number of arrests in the West Bank, including Jerusalem, since the start of the genocide war has reached about 20,000 cases, among them about 1,600 children and about 595 women, where the cases of arrest encompass those who were arrested and whose detention was maintained by the occupation and those who were later released, marking a historical difference in the numbers of those subjected to arrest within just two years, noting that this data does not include the cases of arrest in Gaza, which are estimated in the thousands, as well as the data related to arrest campaigns in the territories occupied in 1948.

Accompanying the arrest operations in the West Bank, unprecedented crimes and violations ensued, including acts of maltreatment and severe beatings, organized terrorism against the detainees and their families, alongside widespread vandalism and destruction of citizens' homes, confiscation of vehicles, money, and gold jewelry, in addition to extensive destruction that targeted infrastructure specifically in the camps of Tulkarm, Jenin and its camp, the demolition of homes belonging to the families of prisoners, the use of family members as hostages, in addition to using detainees as human shields, conducting field executions, alongside using arrest operations and targeting citizens as a cover for settlement operations in the West Bank.

• The tally of arrest campaigns since the start of the genocide includes everyone arrested from homes, military checkpoints, those who were forced to surrender under pressure, and hostages, along with field interrogation operations that extended detention for long hours.

It is noted that the extensive field interrogation operations have targeted thousands since the onset of the genocide, during which occupation soldiers have committed crimes that are no less severe than torture crimes in detention and interrogation centers.

Among the categories that institutions monitored regarding the cases of arrest among their ranks:

Journalists: The number of journalists who were arrested following the war reached 202, the majority of whom were either subjected to administrative detention or faced "charges" related to what the occupation claims is "incitement," arresting them on the basis of freedom of opinion and expression. Notably, two journalists from Gaza remain subject to enforced disappearance, namely Nidal Al-Wahidi and Haitham Abdul Wahid.

Doctors and medical staff: According to the Ministry of Health, the number of medical personnel who were subjected to arrest is about 360, including three who were martyred inside the occupation prisons due to torture operations: Iyad Al-Rantisi, Adnan Al-Barsh, and Ziad Al-Dalu.

The highest proportion among the prisoners are administrative detainees

The numbers of prisoners in the Israeli occupation prisons have doubled to more than half, most of whom are administrative detainees, meaning without charge, which has formed one of the most significant transformations that have occurred in the prisoners’ issue.

The total number of prisoners and detainees in the occupation prisons has risen to more than 11,100 prisoners and detainees, the majority of whom are administrative detainees and those held without charge.

By early October 2025, the overall number of prisoners and detainees in the Israeli occupation prisons has surpassed 11,100, noting that this number does not include detainees held in camps belonging to the occupation army. This is the highest number since the outbreak of the Al-Aqsa Intifada in 2000, based on available documentation data from specialized institutions.

The number of sentenced prisoners, according to what the occupation prison administration announced by October, exceeds 1,460 prisoners.

The number of prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment and those against whom indictments for life sentences were filed is about 350 prisoners, of whom (303) are sentenced, and (40) have indictments for life sentences pending.

The prisoner Abdullah Barghouthi holds the highest sentence of 67 life sentences, followed by the prisoner Ibrahim Hamid with a sentence of 54 life sentences.

The number of veteran prisoners detained since before the signing of the Oslo Accords is (17) prisoners, including four who have been continuously detained since 1986: Ibrahim Abu Makh, Ibrahim Bayadasa, Ahmad Abu Jaber, and Samir Abu Na’ama.

The number of prisoners sentenced from 10 to 20 years is (131) prisoners.

The number of prisoners sentenced from 21 to 30 years is (166) prisoners.

The number of female prisoners currently is 53, among them three females from Gaza and two children.

The number of child prisoners to date has exceeded 400 children, held in Ofer and Megiddo prisons.

The total number of detainees, according to what has been announced by the occupation prison administration by October, is about 3,380 prisoners.

The number of administrative detainees is 3,544 detainees, which is the highest percentage compared to the numbers of detained and sentenced prisoners classified as "unlawful combatants.".

The number of detainees classified as "unlawful combatants" is 2,673, noting that this number does not include all Gaza detainees held in camps belonging to the occupation army and classified under this category. It’s worth mentioning that this classification also includes Arab detainees from Lebanon and Syria.

Numbers of prisoners before the war

The total number of prisoners before the genocide war stood at more than 5,250 prisoners, including about 40 female prisoners and 180 children, while the number of administrative detainees was about 1,320 detainees.

We point out here that since the start of the genocide, the occupation authorities have denied prisoners' families the right to visit them, and also prevented the International Committee of the Red Cross from visiting the prisoners in prisons.

We also point out that Palestinian human rights institutions face significant challenges, and a systematic liquidation process that has escalated unprecedentedly recently, after the United States classified the Al-Haq Organization for Prisoner Care and Human Rights as a "terrorist organization" along with imposing sanctions on three other institutions: "Al-Haq, the Palestinian Center for Human Rights, and Al-Mezan."

All information relied upon by the institutions: through the legal teams that visit and follow up on detainees, and through testimonies and statements from released prisoners, as well as through daily monitoring and documentation.

The institutions renew their demands to the international system to shed the cloak of impotence and complicity regarding the genocide war which has not yielded any tangible effects on the ground, where the crimes committed have reached a level that cannot be described in words. What is happening represents part of ethnic cleansing and erasure, and what is being practiced against prisoners and detainees is a direct extension of the genocide war. The continued international silence regarding these crimes is an affront to all humanity, and the repercussions of this war will reach all those who have taken impotence as an excuse to evade their responsibilities.