LONDON: Three Palestinian prisoners from the Gaza Strip who died in Israeli custody were identified on Thursday, as dozens of others remain “forcibly disappeared,” according to rights groups.
The Commission of Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs and the Palestinian Prisoner’s Society revealed that Taysir Sababa, 60; Khamis Ashour, 44; and Khalil Haniyeh, 35, all died at different times in Israeli imprisonment.
Sababa died on Dec. 31, 2024, two months after his arrest in Gaza. Ashour died on Feb. 8, 2024, one day after his arrest. Haniyeh died on Dec. 25, 2024, about one year after his arrest, according to the Wafa news agency.
Sababa had nine children, Ashour had six, and Haniyeh had four.
The Commission and the Prisoners’ Society accused Israeli authorities of carrying out a policy of “torture, starvation, medical neglect, sexual assault, and systematic violations of human rights” against Palestinian prisoners.
Many Gazan detainees remain “forcibly disappeared,” they added.
Since the Israeli attacks on Gaza began in late 2023, the number of detainees who have died in Israeli custody has passed 100. Of these, only 84 have been identified and announced, including 50 detainees from Gaza.
The groups added that the past two years “represent the bloodiest phase in the history of the Palestinian prisoners’ movement, as Israel attempts to legalize the execution of Palestinian prisoners and enshrine it in law.”
Last week, a UN committee on torture expressed concern about human rights reports, implying that Israel has a “de facto state policy of organized and widespread torture” in its detention facilities.
In November, Israeli lawmakers voted to approve the first reading of a bill to legalize the death penalty for Palestinian convicts involved in deadly attacks against Israelis.
At least 3,368 individuals are held in administrative detention in Israeli prisons, while another 1,205 are labeled as unlawful combatants. Both classifications permit Israeli authorities to extend the duration of detention without trial or family visits.
