2 more Palestinian prisoners from Gaza die in Israeli prisons: rights groups

Two more Palestinian detainees from Gaza died in Israeli prisons, prisoners’ rights groups announced today.

The Israeli occupation army confirmed the death of Mohammed Al-Asali, 35, and Ibrahim Ashour, 25, in detention, the Commission of Detainees’ Affairs, the Palestinian Prisoners Society and the Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association said in a joint statement.

According to the statement, Al-Asali died in prison on 17 May 2024, while Ashour died on 23 June 2024.

Al-Asali was arrested by Israeli forces from Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City in March, while Ashour was detained from Nasser Hospital in the southern city of Khan Yunis on 14 February.

“The death of the two detainees adds a new crime in the record of the Israeli brutality system, which has reached its peak since the start of the war of extermination” in Gaza, the rights groups said.

“The Israeli occupation not only kills detainees but also deliberately manipulates responses regarding their fate,” they added.

According to Palestinian figures, at least 58 detainees have died in Israeli prisons since 7 October 2023, including 37 prisoners from Gaza.

Thousands of Palestinians are believed to have been detained by the Israeli army in Gaza during its genocidal war on the enclave. As many thousands of Palestinians remain missing in Gaza, it is unclear how many have been killed, trapped under the rubble, and who has been disappeared by Israeli occupation forces.

Human rights organisations have warned that more prisoners might die in Israeli prisons amid systematic torture, starvation, medical neglect, physical assaults and sexual violence against the detainees.

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