BETHLEHEM (Palestine Foundation Information Center) Asra Media Office has confirmed that deliberate medical neglect and poor healthcare in Israeli prisons led to the death of wounded detainee Nasser Rdaideh.
Rdaideh, 49, was arrested on 18 September 2023 after being shot by Israeli forces and was initially transferred to Shaare Zedek Medical Center in serious condition. Despite signs of stabilization, he later died at Hadassah Hospital following his transfer from Ofer Prison.
His death marks the second among Palestinian detainees in just four days, bringing the number of prisoners confirmed to have died in Israeli custody since 7 October 2023 to 65, including 40 from Gaza.
Since 1967, the total number of Palestinian prisoners who have died in Israeli custody has reached 302. Israel continues to withhold the bodies of 74 of them.
The Office described the accelerating rate of deaths in custody, amid complete international silence, as a full-fledged humanitarian catastrophe and an ongoing war crime against Palestinian detainees.
It emphasized that Rdaideh’s death is further evidence that thousands of detainees continue to endure systematic and ongoing violations, including medical neglect, starvation, torture, and both physical and psychological abuse.
The Office renewed its call for urgent and serious intervention by international and human rights bodies—especially the International Committee of the Red Cross—to act swiftly to protect detainees and pressure Israeli authorities to halt daily abuses that endanger their lives.
It also called on the Palestinian public and the wider Arab and Islamic communities to mobilize in support of Palestinian prisoners and to reject the ongoing policy of systematic execution within Israeli detention facilities.
