GAZA (Palestine Foundation Information Center) The Hamas Movement has issued a call for widespread solidarity with Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails, designating 17 April—Palestinian Prisoners’ Day—as a national, regional, and international occasion to renew awareness of their legitimate right to freedom.
In a statement released on Wednesday, Hamas highlighted the gravity of the situation faced by more than 14,000 Palestinians currently incarcerated by Israel, including women and children, as well as some 2,000 individuals from Gaza whose detention has been acknowledged by Israeli authorities since the beginning of the ongoing genocide on 7 October 2023.
The statement described harrowing conditions in Israeli detention facilities, where prisoners are subjected to severe psychological and physical abuse and are systematically denied basic human rights.
Since the onset of the war, 63 detainees have died in custody, the most recent being a child, Walid Ahmed, who reportedly died due to deliberate starvation.
The Movement further accused Israeli authorities of ongoing acts of enforced disappearance targeting detainees from Gaza.
Hamas reiterated that the liberation of prisoners remains a top priority in any future exchange deal under what it terms the “Al-Ahrar Flood” operation, out of recognition of their endurance and sacrifices.
The Movement warned that crimes committed against prisoners will not break their resolve nor go unpunished, affirming that such violations are not subject to any statute of limitations.
Holding Israel fully responsible for the safety and well-being of all detainees, Hamas condemned the silence of the international community in the face of what it called acts of extrajudicial execution and systematic killings inside Israeli prisons.
The statement compared the Movement’s treatment of Israeli captives—who were treated humanely and in accordance with international norms—with the Israeli government’s “deliberate policy of torture and murder” targeting Palestinian detainees.
Hamas called on international human rights and humanitarian organizations to expose and document the violations against prisoners from the West Bank, Jerusalem, and Gaza, and to pursue legal accountability through international courts. It also urged urgent and active international intervention to secure their immediate release.
Finally, the Movement called on Palestinian masses to continue supporting the prisoners and urged all factions and political forces to unify efforts in defending their cause. Hamas emphasized the importance of providing care to the families of prisoners, whom it described as an integral part of the Palestinian national struggle.
