Organizations advocating for Palestinian detainees in Israeli prisons have reported that Israeli occupation forces have continued systematic abduction campaigns across the occupied West Bank since October 7, 2023.
In March 2025 alone, Israeli soldiers abducted 800 Palestinians, including 84 children and 18 women, amidst the ongoing genocide against the Palestinian people. These abductions occurred during invasions and violent searches, intensified field interrogations, and the use of civilians as hostages or human shields.
In their monthly report on detentions, the organizations revealed that the total number of abductions in the West Bank since the beginning of the genocide and forced displacement has reached approximately 16,400 individuals. This figure includes 510 women and around 1,300 children, excluding thousands of abductions documented in Gaza as its remain difficult to document abductions in Gaza amidst the ongoing genocide.
The organizations expressed grave concern over the surge in administrative detentions, with 3,498 Palestinians currently held without charge or trial, including over 100 children.
Such levels of administrative detention are unprecedented, even during the height of previous popular uprisings. These detentions are upheld by military courts, which continue to function as tools of repression through sham trials.
In March, three detainees died in Israeli prisons. Khaled Abdullah from Jenin passed away in Megiddo Prison in February, with his death officially confirmed in March. Similarly, Ali Al-Batsh from Gaza died in February, with his death also confirmed the following month. Additionally, Walid Ahmad, a 17-year-old, was declared dead on March 22, 2025, in Megiddo Prison under harrowing conditions.
Walid Ahmad’s case exemplifies systemic abuse. He endured abduction, detention in dire conditions, and neglect after contracting scabies. A medical report identified prolonged starvation as the primary cause of his death.
Megiddo Prison has become a focal point of intensified abuse since the onset of the genocide, with numerous detainees, including children, suffering from preventable diseases like scabies.
The infection continues to spread unchecked, with many previously treated individuals becoming reinfected. This ongoing health crisis poses a severe threat to detainees’ lives.
Throughout March, detainee organizations conducted numerous prison visits, documenting unprecedented levels of systematic and organized abuse. In Nafha and Ofer prisons, testimonies revealed that suppression units used rubber-coated steel bullets against detainees, aiming directly at their legs. Children in Ofer Prison reported threats from these units to use rubber bullets on them.
The month also saw repeated invasions by heavily armed special forces, who conducted extensive searches and assaulted detainees with severe beatings. Entire sections were forcibly relocated, often accompanied by additional violence, leaving numerous detainees injured.
Conditions for detainees from Gaza were similarly dire, with testimonies recounting relentless abuse and inhumane treatment.
Scabies remains rampant among Gaza detainees, with no effective measures to mitigate its spread or provide care.
Detainees reported being forced to use barrels or containers for basic needs, highlighting the occupation’s use of every aspect of imprisonment, including illness, injuries, and deprivation, as tools of torture.
Other documented abuses include shackling, enforced painful positions as punishment, and restrictions on family visits, often accompanied by threats.
Medical neglect remains a significant issue, with most detainees suffering from at least one health condition due to the harsh environment.
Even those initially detained in good health often fall ill due to overcrowding, poor hygiene, and physical abuse, including beatings severe enough to cause fractures.
Psychological trauma is also widespread, with detainees subjected to both collective and solitary isolation. Leaders of the detainees’ movement have faced prolonged solitary confinement and systematic transfers since the genocide began, often accompanied by physical abuse.
Legal support for detainees remains heavily restricted, with prison authorities imposing stringent surveillance during visits and scheduling them at infrequent intervals.
Lawyers frequently face delays or outright bans on meeting detainees, while detainees endure humiliation and abuse during transfers. Many detainees refrain from sharing information out of fear of retaliation, as has occurred in numerous documented cases.
The organizations stressed that time has become a critical factor in the lives of thousands of detainees. Since the beginning of the genocide, 63 detainees have died in Israeli prisons. This number includes only those whose identities are known, while many Gaza detainees remain forcibly disappeared.
As of early April, over 9,900 Palestinians remain in Israeli prisons, including 3,498 administrative detainees, 400 children, and 27 women. Among Gaza detainees, 1,747 have been labeled as “illegal combatants” by Israeli authorities, a designation that excludes many others, especially those held in military camps.
Before October 7, 2023, Israeli prisons held more than 5,250 detainees, including 40 women, 170 children, and approximately 1,320 administrative detainees.
