DaysofPal – The Palestinian Prisoners’ Media Office reported on Sunday that 40 journalists, both men and women, are currently being held in Israeli prisons, amid an ongoing escalation in arrests targeting media workers.
In a statement, the office said that two journalists remain under enforced disappearance, with no information available about their whereabouts or condition. The missing journalists were identified as Nidal al-Waheidi and Haitham Abdel Wahid, both from the Gaza Strip.
According to the statement, approximately 220 cases of arrest and detention of journalists and media workers have been recorded since October 7, 2023, reflecting an unprecedented campaign against Palestinian press freedom.
The most recent arrest occurred at dawn on Sunday, when Israeli forces detained journalist Farouk Omar Aliyat, 44, from the village of Deir Abu Daif, east of Jenin in the northern occupied West Bank. Aliyat, a father of three, is a former prisoner who has previously been detained multiple times by Israeli authorities.
The Prisoners’ Media Office added that by the end of 2025, the total number of Palestinian prisoners had reached approximately 9,300, nearly half of whom are held without charge or trial. This increase has been accompanied by an unprecedented expansion of administrative detention and the use of classifications such as “unlawful combatant,” alongside widespread targeting of women, children, journalists, and medical personnel.
The statement also highlighted systematic violations inside Israeli prisons, including physical and psychological torture, medical neglect, deliberate starvation, inhumane detention conditions, sexual abuse, denial of family visits, and severe restrictions on lawyers and the International Committee of the Red Cross.
Since 1967, 323 Palestinian prisoners have died in Israeli custody by the end of 2025, including 86 deaths since 2023 and 32 during 2025 alone. The office reported that 94 bodies of deceased prisoners are currently being withheld, with documented cases of direct killing, torture, and deliberate medical neglect.
By mid-January 2026, the death toll among Palestinian prisoners rose to 324, including 87 deaths since the start of the genocidal war, while the number of bodies withheld increased to 95.
Despite the release of 3,745 prisoners through exchange deals in 2025, the office said policies of forced exile and re-arrest have continued. These measures have been accompanied by repressive legislation, including proposals to execute prisoners, extend administrative detention, revoke citizenship, and intensify crackdowns on human rights organizations.
The Prisoners’ Media Office concluded by calling for immediate international accountability, the release of sick detainees, children, and women, and the establishment of independent international monitoring mechanisms to ensure the protection of prisoners’ rights.
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