DaysofPal- Israeli prisons and detention facilities have effectively been transformed into a coordinated system of torture camps targeting Palestinian prisoners, according to a new report released by the Israeli human rights organization B’Tselem.
The report, titled “Hell on Earth,” documents the Israeli official policy of physical and psychological abuse, starvation, medical neglect, and total isolation imposed on Palestinian detainees since the outbreak of the war.
B’Tselem said the findings are based on testimonies, medical records, and official data.
According to the report, at least 84 Palestinian prisoners have died inside Israeli prisons and detention centers from the start of the war through the end of December 2025, including one minor.
B’Tselem noted that other human rights organizations estimate the death toll at no fewer than 94 prisoners, in addition to six detainees who died during interrogations conducted by Israeli internal security service, the Shin Bet.
The group added that Israeli occupation continues to withhold the bodies of at least 80 deceased prisoners.
Data cited from the Israeli Prison Service show that by the end of September 2025, the number of Palestinian prisoners and detainees had reached 10,863.
This figure includes 7,425 detainees from the West Bank and occupied East Jerusalem, 2,931 from the Gaza Strip, and 507 Palestinians from within occupied territories in 1948, including 350 children and 48 women.
The report said the detainee population includes 3,521 Palestinians held under administrative detention without charge or trial, 2,623 detainees from Gaza classified as “unlawful combatants,” 3,227 detainees whose cases are still pending, and 1,492 prisoners serving sentences.
B’Tselem accused the Israeli occupation of institutionalizing torture, describing practices that include severe beatings, electric shocks, the use of attack dogs, tear gas and stun grenades, forced stress positions, prolonged solitary confinement, humiliation, forced nudity, and sexual violence.
The report includes allegations of assaults on prisoners’ genitals and cases of rape using objects.
It also documented a pattern of sexual abuse and serious physical harm, including amputations, loss of eyesight and hearing, and internal bleeding, which the organization attributed to torture or prolonged medical neglect.
Denial of medical care, the report said, has become a central tool of abuse. Autopsies conducted on deceased prisoners revealed that six out of ten deaths were directly linked to deliberate medical neglect.
The report also warned of the spread of serious illnesses, including scabies, without adequate treatment.
Living conditions inside detention facilities were described as degrading and inhumane, marked by severe overcrowding, prisoners sleeping on the floor without blankets, extended shackling, restrictions on showering and changing clothes, shortages of drinking water, and extremely poor food rations amounting to starvation.
B’Tselem highlighted the “Rakivet” wing at Ayalon Prison in Ramla, an underground section where prisoners are completely deprived of sunlight.
The wing, described as a symbol of abuse and humiliation, was reopened by order of far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, according to the report.
The organization also said Israeli occupation forces have barred family visits and denied access to the International Committee of the Red Cross and lawyers since October 2023, while imposing severe limitations on legal consultations.
These measures, B’Tselem said, are aimed at isolating detainees and preventing the documentation of abuses.
B’Tselem concluded that the violations outlined in the report are not isolated incidents but part of an official, state-backed policy supported by political, judicial, and media institutions.
The organization called on the international community to take urgent action to hold the Israel accountable and to put an end to torture and inhumane treatment of Palestinian prisoners.
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