"Mistreatment After Death".. 104 Palestinians Died or Were Killed While in Custody in Israel

SadaNews Translation - Information published by the "Gisha – Legal Center for Freedom of Movement", an Israeli organization defending freedom of movement, revealed that at least 104 Palestinians have died or been killed while held by Israeli authorities, either during arrest or during the period of detention.

According to information reported by the Hebrew newspaper Haaretz on Wednesday, at least 68 of the total number are residents of the Gaza Strip.

The report confirms that estimates suggest the actual number of deaths inside Israeli detention facilities may be higher than that. According to SadaNews translation.

According to a report issued by the organization titled "Mistreatment After Death", as of July 2026, there are 9,299 detainees in Israel classified by the Israeli Prison Service as "security prisoners", most of whom are from the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

This number does not include Palestinians detained by the Israeli army, as there is no transparency regarding their numbers or conditions, according to Haaretz.

The report indicates that more than 80% of security detainees are held without trial, distributed as follows: 3,314 detainees who have not been issued court sentences yet, 3,244 held under administrative detention, and 1,320 detained under the "Unlawful Combatants Law".

According to the organization, nine months after the ceasefire agreement dated October 9, 2025 came into effect, many families in Gaza are still waiting for information about their relatives who went missing during the war, and in cases where it was found that these individuals died while in custody of Israeli authorities, families are also waiting for information concerning the circumstances of death and the repatriation of their bodies for burial.

It noted that during the last two years, the organization has handled legal procedures to demand the return of the bodies of three individuals from Gaza who died after being arrested by Israel.

Israel has acknowledged that it holds the bodies until a new policy regarding prisoners and the missing is formulated, meaning it retains the bodies and prevents their return to families in Gaza as a bargaining chip, without any legal basis permitting it to do so, as stated by the organization.