
File photo: Israeli soldiers stand by a truck packed with bound and blindfolded Palestinian detainees in Gaza.AP
The detainees were Ashraf Abu Warda; Mohamed Rashid Akka, 44; Samir Mahmoud Al-Kahlout, 52; Zohair Omar Al-Sharif, 58; and Mohamed Anwar Labad, 57.
Many Palestinians in Gaza are still unaware of the fate of their family members who were abducted by the Israeli occupation army.
Despite claims by the Israeli army that they neither arrested nor detained these individuals, witnesses last saw them in the custody of Israeli soldiers.
In recent months, Palestinians and human rights organizations have submitted 27 petitions to Israeli authorities seeking information about the fate of missing individuals from Gaza, with most of them rejected.
However, investigations by independent bodies and media, including Israel's Haaretz newspaper, have revealed that individuals previously claimed as unaccounted for were often either detained in Israeli facilities or deceased.
The latest incident occurred on Friday when Israeli forces abducted Dr Hussam Abu Safiya, the director of Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza, along with 350 Palestinians, including patients and staff.
The abducted Palestinians were taken to an undisclosed location.
Similarly, in May, Adnan Al-Bursh, the head of orthopaedics at Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza, was killed in an Israeli prison after over four months in detention. Al-Bursh, 50, had been detained while temporarily working at Al-Awda Hospital in northern Gaza.
The senior Palestinian doctor had been "assassinated," and his body remained in Israeli custody.
Details of deceased detainees
- Mohamed Rashid Akka: Arrested on 15 November 2023 while fleeing from northern Gaza to the south. He was a father of 10 and had no known health issues. He died on 14 December 2023 in the Negev prison.
- Samir Al-Kahlout: Arrested on 25 October 2023 from Kamal Adwan Hospital after undergoing a liver and kidney operation. Despite his serious medical condition, he was detained and passed away on 3 November 2023. He was married with three children.
- Zohair Al-Sharif: Arrested on 7 October 2023 while working in the occupied territories. He had no known health problems and was a father of six. He passed away on 18 October 2023.
- Mohamed Labad: Arrested on 18 November 2023 while fleeing with his family from northern Gaza to the south. He had liver cirrhosis and diabetes. He died on 27 November 2023. He was married with eight children.
The Prisoners' Association and the Club denounced the Israeli military's attempts to manipulate the information about the prisoners' conditions, citing conflicting responses received from Israeli authorities, including a misleading attempt regarding Zohair Al-Sharif's status.
Enforced disappearance
The number of Palestinians who have died in Israeli custody since the start of the Israeli war on Gaza has reached 54, marking the highest death toll in Israeli prisons in the history of the Palestinian prisoners' movement.
Hundreds more remain subject to enforced disappearance, with their whereabouts unknown.
The Palestinian prisoners’ organizations warned that the systematic abuse and torture of Palestinian prisoners continues to escalate, with the deliberate aim of killing more detainees. They pointed to the relentless nature of the crimes being committed, including torture, starvation, medical neglect, and even sexual abuse, as well as the dangerous conditions prisoners are being forced to endure, which often lead to fatal diseases.
The total number of Palestinians in Israeli detention as of early December 2023 exceeds 10,300, with over 89 women, at least 345 children, and 3,428 administrative detainees among them. The ongoing systematic disappearance of prisoners, particularly those from Gaza, continues to raise a significant concern for human rights groups.
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