GAZA, (Palestine Foundation Information Center), The Palestine Center for Prisoner Studies (PCPS) has accused the Israeli prison service of pursuing a systematic policy of torture and medical neglect against Palestinian prisoners in its jails, reporting that four detainees died in custody during the first half of 2026.
According to a PCPS report released on Tuesday, 27 Palestinian detainees have died in Israeli custody between the outbreak of the Gaza war on October 7, 2023, and the end of June 2026, including 90 whose identities have been officially announced and confirmed.
52 of those who died were Gazan prisoners, including several doctors and nurses, with most deaths resulting directly from torture, PCPS said.
It noted that among those who died in custody during the first half of the year was 67-year-old Gazan prisoner Hamza Abdullah Adwan, who passed away 10 months after he was kidnaped by Israeli forces in northern Gaza.
PCPS added that the Israeli occupation authority withheld the announcement of his death for four months, affirming that he died after exposure to harsh incarceration conditions and medical neglect.
