GAZA, (Palestine Foundation Information Center), The Palestine Center for Prisoners Studies said Israeli authorities continue to hold dozens of prisoners from the Gaza Strip who were detained before October 7, 2023, despite some having completed their sentences years ago.
According to the Center, more than 43 Gaza prisoners remain in Israeli prisons after completing their sentences, representing about 55% of the 80 Gaza prisoners who were already detained before the war.
Several prisoners completed their sentences during the early days of the war, but Israeli authorities refused to release them, citing the state of emergency imposed after October 7, 2023. As a result, the Center said, they have remained behind bars for years beyond their original sentences, with no indication of when they will be released.
Prisoners held for years beyond their sentences
Among the cases highlighted by the Center is Mohammed Yousef al-Qudra from Khan Yunis in southern Gaza, who completed an 11-year sentence in June 2025 but remains in detention.
Mohammed Abdul Karim al-Qadi completed his 10-year sentence more than a year and a half ago, while Mohammed Abu Tair and Ibrahim al-Shaer, both from Rafah, completed their 10-year sentences around a year and a half ago but have not been released.
Mahmoud al-Atawneh, Majdi Salem and Hisham Harara have also spent more than nine years in Israeli prisons despite completing their sentences nearly two and a half years ago, according to the Center.
Detained despite completing their sentences
The Palestine Center for Prisoners Studies said Israel has not released any Gaza prisoner detained before October 7, 2023, upon completion of their sentence, including elderly prisoners such as 67-year-old Naim al-Sharif from Rafah.
Some prisoners detained before the war were released under prisoner-exchange agreements, while more than 2,000 Palestinians detained during the war have also been released, according to the Center.
The Center accused Israeli authorities of deliberately holding dozens of Gaza prisoners beyond their sentences as part of a policy of retaliation and collective punishment against Palestinians in the Strip.
It said the continued detention comes amid Israel’s war on Gaza, during which tens of thousands of Palestinians have been killed, many more wounded and more than 14,000 Palestinians detained.
Torture, starvation and medical neglect
According to the Center, Gaza prisoners, both those detained before the war and those arrested since October 2023, are being held under harsh conditions and denied basic rights while facing various forms of physical and psychological abuse.
The Center reported that prisoners have been restrained from behind with plastic ties for prolonged periods, forced to lie on the ground for hours, attacked with police dogs and subjected to other forms of physical abuse. It also said that Israeli forces have used tear gas and rubber-coated bullets against detainees.
The Center further accused Israeli authorities of deliberately starving Gaza prisoners by providing inadequate quantities of poor-quality food that, in some cases, was unfit for consumption. It said some prisoners have suffered severe physical deterioration and lost as much as half their body weight.
Medical neglect has compounded these conditions, the Center said, adding that torture and inadequate medical care have contributed to the deaths of 53 prisoners from Gaza since October 7, 2023.
Calls for international intervention
The Palestine Center for Prisoners Studies called on international human rights organizations to intervene and pressure Israeli authorities to immediately release Gaza prisoners who have completed their sentences.
The Center stressed that there is no justification for continuing to hold prisoners after they have served the sentences imposed on them.
