DaysofPal- The Palestinian Prisoners’ Society released a new briefing on Thursday detailing testimonies from detainees across several Israeli prisons, revealing disturbing accounts of contaminated food, medical neglect, and systematic abuse.
The findings were based on visits conducted during the first half of September to prisons including Negev, Megiddo, Ramla, Ofer, Shatta, Gilboa, and Damon, and also covered child and female detainees.
According to prisoners’ accounts, conditions remain dire with no signs of improvement.
Reports highlighted a widespread outbreak of scabies in Negev and Ofer prisons, escalating repression, and the use of electric stun guns, rubber bullets, and other weapons against detainees.
Harsh testimonies
One prisoner described suffering from severe itching and joint pain without access to treatment, while another said food portions were insufficient and often contaminated with bird droppings, spoiled vegetables, or cleaning soap residues.
Medical staff, detainees said, frequently mocked their requests for treatment.
At Negev prison, where thousands are held, many detainees reported not changing clothes for six months due to severe shortages, lack of hygiene products, and restrictions on showers, which are allowed only during limited courtyard breaks.
Prisoners also reported deliberate power cuts in cells for extended periods.
At Megiddo, detainees with pre-existing injuries and illnesses said they were denied even basic pain relief.
Regular raids, often conducted at night, involved beatings, police dogs, and electric shocks. Skin diseases and dental problems were also reported.
Children held at Ofer prison, numbering 210 minors, were among those suffering from untreated scabies.
At Damon prison, female prisoners testified to overcrowding, damp conditions, spoiled food, strip searches, and physical assaults, alongside denial of basic sanitary needs.
In Shatta and Gilboa prisons, raids and use of stun weapons were described as routine, where at Ramla prison clinic, 10 of 22 chronically ill detainees were isolated after contracting scabies, with little access to proper care.
Systematic torture
The Prisoners’ Information Office stressed that these testimonies reflect only part of the daily suffering, arguing that the Israeli policies of disease spread, starvation, and abuse amount to “a full-fledged crime and an integral part of the ongoing war of extermination.”
The office warned that prisons risk becoming “silent mass graves” if the situation continues unchecked.
As of September 2025, the total number of Palestinians held in Israeli prisons stood at more than 11,100.
Among them were 53 women, including two detainees from Gaza, who face the same harsh conditions as their male counterparts but with the added burden of gender-specific deprivations such as the denial of sanitary needs.
The briefing also noted the continued detention of children, with more than 400 minors currently imprisoned.
Many of these children, including the 210 held at Ofer prison, suffer from untreated illnesses and are subjected to physical and psychological abuse.
In addition, there are 3,577 administrative detainees held without charge or trial, reflecting the broad Israeli use of administrative detention as a policy against Palestinians.
Another 2,662 detainees are classified as “unlawful combatants,” a category that includes prisoners from Lebanon and Syria, as well as thousands from Gaza who remain confined in Israeli military camps.
The report renewed calls on the international community to intervene urgently and halt what it described as systematic violations before conditions lead to further deaths among detainees.
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