The Palestinian Prisoners’ Society (PPS) and the Commission for Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs announced, Thursday, the death of detainee Samir Mohammad Youssef Ar-Refa’ey, 53, from the town of Rummana in Jenin Governorate, in the northern part of the occupied West Bank.
Ar-Refa’ey, a married father of five, was abducted by Israeli forces from his home on July 10 of this year, 2025.
He was scheduled for his first hearing at the Salem Military Court the day he died. Medical reports shared by his family indicated that he suffered from chronic heart conditions requiring ongoing medical supervision.
The organizations reported that Samir’s death raises the number of detainees who have died in Israeli custody since the onset of the genocide to 74, whose identities have been documented, amid continued cases of enforced disappearance.
This marks the deadliest period in the history of the Palestinian prisoner movement, with the total number of deaths in detention since 1967 reaching 311.
They warned that the rising death toll is the result of sustained and systematic abuse, including torture, starvation, medical neglect, sexual violence, and exposure to unsanitary conditions that breed infectious diseases, such as scabies. Detainees also face unprecedented restrictions and punitive measures.
The PPS and the Commission held the Israeli authorities fully responsible for ar-Refa’ey’s death, characterizing it as a deliberate policy aimed at destroying Palestinian detainees.
They called on international human rights institutions to move beyond rhetoric and take concrete legal steps to hold Israeli leaders accountable for war crimes.
They further urged the imposition of international sanctions and an end to Israel’s immunity under global legal frameworks, calling for the reactivation of international justice mechanisms paralyzed since the onset of the ongoing extermination campaign.
Also Thursday, the General Authority for Civil Affairs announced Thursday evening that it had informed the Ministry of Health of the death of Palestinian citizen Firas Ahmad Raja Sobeh, 47, who succumbed to critical injuries after being shot by Israeli forces earlier that morning in Wadi al-Far’a, south of Tubas, in the northeastern part of the occupied West Bank. His body remains withheld by the Israeli military.
Since the beginning of this year, Israel has killed 180 Palestinians in the occupied West Bank; 62 in Jenin, 32 in Nablus, 27 in Tubas, 17 in Tulkarem, 12 in Hebron, 11 in Ramallah, 6 in Bethlehem, 4 in Qalqilia, 5 in Jerusalem, 3 in Salfit and 1 in Jericho.
Since the beginning of this year, Israel has killed 179 Palestinians in the occupied West Bank; 61 in Jenin, 32 in Nablus, 27 in Tubas, 17 in Tulkarem, 12 in Hebron, 11 in Ramallah, 6 in Bethlehem, 4 in Qalqilia, 5 in Jerusalem, 3 in Salfit and 1 in Jericho.
Israel has now killed 1.015 Palestinians in the occupied West Bank since October 7, 2023; 268 were killed in Jenin, 124 in Nablus, 94 in Tubas, 213 in Tulkarem, 89 in Hebron, 70 in Ramallah, 27 in Bethlehem, 37 in Qalqilia, 23 in Jerusalem, 32 in Jerusalem suburbs, 7 in Salfit and 13 in Jericho and Northern Plains.
In the Gaza Strip, Israel has killed over 6,457 Palestinians, including 1,855 women, 1,887 children, and 338 elderly, while injuring at least 25,726, predominantly women, children, and seniors, since the beginning of 2025.
Since October 7, 2023, Israeli forces have killed more than 58,667 Palestinians, including at least 17,335 children, 10,213 women, 4,167 elderly civilians, and 260 journalists. Over 139,974 have been injured, largely women, children, and the elderly.
