RAMALLAH, December 5, 2024 (WAFA) – The Prisoners’ and Ex-Prisoners’ Affairs Commission and the Palestinian Prisoners’ Society (PPS) have confirmed the death of Palestinian detainee Alaa Marwan Hamza Mahlawi, 42, from Gaza, in Israeli custody.
Mahlawi had been incarcerated since December 21, 2023. According to his family, he did not suffer from any chronic illnesses prior to his detention, except for a pre-existing eye issue.
The report indicated that Mahlawi had been held in the Naqab Prison, where sources from fellow detainees revealed that his health had significantly deteriorated. However, details surrounding his condition remain scarce. In late November 2023, Mahlawi was transferred to the Israeli Asaf Harofeh Hospital, where he died this morning.
Mahlawi leaves behind a wife and four children, the oldest of whom is a 16-year-old daughter, and the youngest is 8 years old. This tragic incident adds to the growing number of mysterious deaths among Palestinian detainees, particularly in the context of Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza.
The Prisoners’ and Ex-Prisoners’ Affairs Commission and the PPS stressed that the number of Palestinian detainees who have died in Israeli custody has sharply increased since the start of the Israeli aggression on Gaza. This marks a notable spike in the historical toll on detainees, with Mahlawi’s death following closely behind that of Mohammad Walid Hussein, from the Nour Shams refugee camp, who died just a day earlier.
Since the beginning of the Israeli offensive, at least 49 Palestinian detainees have died in custody, with 30 of these individuals coming from Gaza. The total number of Palestinian detainees who have died in Israeli prisons since 1967 now stands at 286, though many more remain unidentified due to the Israeli practice of concealing detainee identities, particularly those from Gaza.
The two organizations denounced the ongoing systematic mistreatment of detainees in Israeli prisons, describing it as a form of extermination. They stressed that Israel’s prison system has become a site of torture, with policies that aim to eliminate detainees through planned acts of violence and neglect.
They held the Israeli occupation fully responsible for Mahlawi’s death and called for accountability. They also emphasized the urgent need for international pressure on Israel to stop its abusive practices against Palestinian detainees, especially amidst the ongoing violence in Gaza.
As of December 2024, more than 10,300 Palestinian detainees remain incarcerated in Israeli prisons, including 91 women, at least 280 minors, and 3,428 held under administrative detention orders. Many detainees from Gaza remain subject to enforced disappearance in Israeli military facilities.
