GAZA, (The Palestine Foundation Pakistan)
The Asra Media Office reported that data released by the organization “Physicians for Human Rights, revealing the deaths of 98 Palestinians, most of them civilians, in Israeli prisons and detention centers since October 7, 2023, confirms earlier findings by prisoner rights groups that Israel is committing organized executions of Palestinian detainees away from international oversight.”
In a statement issued Wednesday, the office emphasized that the detainees’ death without fair trials or informing their families of their fate constitutes extrajudicial killings and qualifies as both a war crime and a crime against humanity under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.
The statement stressed that, under international humanitarian law, such actions are considered grave breaches and blatant violations of the Geneva Conventions, particularly Common Article 3 and Article 27 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, which obligate occupying forces to protect the lives and dignity of detainees under all circumstances.
The Asra Media Office held Israel fully responsible for the deaths, attributing them to brutal torture, starvation, and deliberate medical neglect. The office also asserted that the actual death toll is likely far higher, as Israel continues to enforce a policy of secrecy and forced disappearance, especially for those detained on or after October 7.
The office called on international organizations, particularly the International Committee of the Red Cross and the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, to fulfill their responsibilities by launching an urgent international investigation, ensuring access to detainees, halting ongoing abuses, and holding those responsible accountable before the International Criminal Court.
It also urged action to uncover the fate of many prisoners subjected to enforced disappearance, to conduct visits to assess their conditions and rights, and to push for their immediate release.
Lastly, the statement stressed the importance of intensifying popular solidarity campaigns in support of the detainees across all platforms until they are all freed.
