Death toll among Palestinian prisoners rises to 84 since start of Gaza war
GAZA, Dec. 06 (YPA) -The Palestinian Prisoners’ Media Office reported that the number of martyrs among prisoners and detainees in Israeli custody has risen to at least 84, including 50 martyrs from Gaza, since the start of Israeli genocide war on October 7, 2023.
In a report published, on Friday, the office confirmed that “since October 7, 2023, the pace of systematic abuse has escalated, and prison cells have become arenas of revenge where the most heinous forms of oppression and medical neglect are practiced.”
The report stressed that this is “not about individual transgressions, but rather a deliberate policy to gradually drain the Palestinian body of life.” It added: “Deep within the Israeli prisons, where hope is held captive behind bars, a silent war is being waged against the bodies and souls of the prisoners.”
The report stated that the total number of documented martyrs of the Palestinian prisoners’ movement since 1967 has risen to 321.
The report documented stories of prisoners who died in custody under the weight of imprisonment and neglect.
The Office’s legal analysis notes that “despite the clarity of international laws guaranteeing prisoners’ rights, the Israeli enemy authorities systematically violate these conventions, disregarding all humanitarian norms and legal principles.”
It explained that while the Geneva Conventions grant prisoners the right to medical care, humane treatment, and protection from torture, “what is happening in enemy prisons constitutes a flagrant violation.”
The report specifically accused the Israeli prison service of deliberately denying medical treatment, imposing prolonged solitary confinement, preventing lawyer and family visits, and resorting to physical and psychological torture as systematic pressure tactics.
Regarding the crime of withholding the bodies of martyred prisoners, the report stated that it “represents a double violation that infringes upon the dignity of the deceased and the rights of their families.”
It directly contravenes Article 17 of the First Geneva Convention, which mandates that states respect and hand over the bodies of the dead for dignified burial.
Experts classify the continuation of these policies as a “war crime” and ‘extrajudicial killing’,” reflecting a state of complete impunity amidst a suspicious international silence.
The report concluded by emphasizing that the issue is a “fully-fledged crime committed in broad daylight,” turning every cell into a stage for the violation of the law.
It stated that the enemy continues to withhold the bodies of 92 martyrs, 81 of whom were killed since the beginning of the “genocide.” Dozens of martyrs from Gaza remain forcibly disappeared, held captive in “numbered graves or unknown locations, deprived of a proper farewell and burial.”
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