GAZA (Palestine Foundation Information Center) A 70-year-old Palestinian detainee from Gaza, Muhammad Ibrahim Abu Habel, died in Israeli custody on January 10, 2025, according to a joint statement from the Detainees and Ex-detainees’ Affairs Commission and the Palestinian Prisoner Society (PPS).
The two rights groups said Abu Habel’s martyrdom adds to a growing toll of Palestinian detainees martyred amid Israeli occupation forces’ (IOF) ongoing genocide in Gaza, highlighting the Israeli system of “organized crimes” against prisoners.
Abu Habel, a father of 11, was detained by the IOF on November 12, 2024, at the “Civil Administration” checkpoint. His death brings the number of Palestinians who died in custody since the start of the genocide to at least 71 of whom 45 were from Gaza.
According to the statement, this marks the deadliest period in the history of the Palestinian prisoners’ movement since 1967, with a total of 308 documented deaths in Israeli detention.
The Commission and the PPS pointed to a widespread pattern of abuse in IOF detention centers, including torture, medical neglect, starvation, and sexual violence—especially targeting detainees from Gaza.
Testimonies from released detainees have described harrowing conditions and daily mistreatment. The organizations emphasized that torture remains the primary cause of death among detainees, compounded by denial of medical care and inhumane treatment.
The human right groups criticized the lack of transparency from the IOF, stating that the official responses concerning the causes of death are limited and often contradictory. In some cases, legal efforts were required to even determine whether a detainee was alive or dead.
They also warned of deteriorating conditions for the more than 10,400 Palestinians currently held in Israeli prisons, including 49 women, over 440 children, 3,562 administrative detainees, and 2,214 classified as “illegal combatants” from Gaza. These figures exclude an unknown number of detainees held in undisclosed military camps.
The two rights groups held Israel fully responsible for Abu Habel’s martyrdom and renewed calls for an independent international investigation into the deaths of Palestinian detainees. They urged global human rights bodies to break the “exceptional immunity” granted to Israel and to take serious steps toward accountability, including sanctions and international isolation.
