GAZA(Palestine Foundation Information Center) The Palestinian Center for Prisoners’ Defense expressed deep concern on Sunday over reports that several Palestinian detainees from Gaza were injured by shrapnel caused by Israeli interceptor missiles launched earlier in the day to counter Iranian rockets near Megiddo Prison.
“According to sources, the shrapnel penetrated parts of the prison buildings, causing direct injuries to a number of prisoners, some of whom were already ill, under harsh and inhumane detention conditions,” the center said.
The center confirmed that Israeli authorities are still preventing the injured from being transferred to hospitals and are refusing to provide them with medical care, which constitutes a blatant violation of the most basic prisoner rights guaranteed by the Geneva Conventions and international humanitarian law.
The center demanded the immediate disclosure of the injured prisoners’ identities and conditions, and called for urgent access for Red Cross representatives and human rights organizations to visit Megiddo Prison and assess the detainees’ situation.
It also urged an international investigation into what it described as a “compound crime,” involving deliberate medical neglect and the endangerment of prisoners’ lives.
The center held Israeli authorities fully responsible for the safety of the prisoners, warning of ongoing serious violations against them, particularly in light of the recent military escalation.
More than 10,000 Palestinian prisoners are currently held in Israeli jails, including thousands from the Gaza Strip, enduring what are described as the harshest detention conditions in decades.
