LONDON: Hatem Rayan, a Palestinian paramedic from Gaza, has died at the notorious Israeli Negev detention center, the Palestinian Authority’s General Authority of Civil Affairs said on Thursday.
He had been held there since his arrest on Dec. 27, 2024, according to the Commission of Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs, and the Palestinian Prisoners Society.
He was arrested at Kamal Adwan Hospital along with his injured son, Muath, who remains in custody, the Palestinian WAFA news agency reported.
Rayan is one of more than 100 prisoners and detainees who have died in Israeli prisons since the start of the war in Gaza in October 2023. Only 88 of them have been officially identified, 52 of whom were from Gaza. The total number of Palestinian prisoners who have died in Israeli custody since 1967 now stands at 325, the prisoners’ rights groups added.
Rayan was detained when Israeli forces stormed the Kamal Adwan Hospital, the largest medical facility in northern Gaza. They carried out a forced evacuation of patients and staff, and arrested its director, Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya. He remains detained without charge.
