24/4/2024 – Shaimaa Khalil and Mohamed Madi / BBC Arabic

Shortly after Hamas's attack on Israel and the eruption of the war in Gaza, Um Mohammed in the occupied West Bank received a phone call from her son, who was in an Israeli prison. Abdulrahman Mari said during the call: "Pray for me, Mother. Things are getting worse here. Maybe they won't let me talk to you again." It was indeed the last time she would hear her son's voice.

Abdulrahman Mari died in an Israeli prison, his body showing signs of bruises and fractures.

Conditions for Palestinian prisoners in Israel deteriorated following Hamas's October 7th attack last year, according to the Palestinian Authority’s Commission for Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs in the West Bank. The Commission’s head, Qadoura Fares, told the BBC that 13 Palestinian prisoners have died since then in Israeli prisons, "most of them due to beatings or denial of medical treatment."

Abdulrahman was among the first to die in prison. He was a carpenter from the village of Qarawat Bani Hassan. In February of last year, he was arrested at a mobile Israeli checkpoint while returning home from work in Ramallah. He was transferred to administrative detention in Megiddo Prison, a policy that allows Israel to detain individuals indefinitely without charge.

His brother, Ibrahim, said the charges against Abdulrahman were minor, such as participating in protests and possession of a firearm. However, they also accused him of being affiliated with Hamas, although there were no specific allegations of activities within the group.

Ibrahim is still trying to determine exactly how his brother died in custody. He relies on testimonies from Abdulrahman’s cellmates and court session reports. One former cellmate, speaking to the BBC on condition of anonymity, said, "After October 7th, it was complete torture. They beat us for no reason, searched us for no reason, even if you looked at someone the wrong way."

He described seeing Abdulrahman being severely beaten in front of him and others.

“At nine in the morning, they came into our cell and started beating us. One of the guards insulted Abdulrahman’s father, which Abdulrahman protested against.”

"They beat him severely and took him to another cell upstairs for a week. During that time, we could hear him screaming in pain."

The former cellmate learned of Abdulrahman’s death a week after being released from prison.

Israeli prison authorities did not respond directly to the BBC's questions about Abdulrahman’s death or the other 12 Palestinians whose deaths were reported by the Commission for Detainees. They stated only, "We are not aware of the described allegations, and to the best of our knowledge, they are untrue."

Professor Dani Rosen, a doctor from Physicians for Human Rights, attended the examination of Abdulrahman Mari's body. His statements support what Abdulrahman’s cellmate and brother told the BBC.

Professor Rosen’s report noted bruises on the left side of Abdulrahman’s chest and multiple rib fractures. External bruises were also observed on his back, buttocks, left arm, thigh, and the right side of his head and neck, without underlying fractures.

An excerpt from an additional police report mentioned the use of "forceful restraint" on Mari six days before his death.

Professor Rosen stated that while no specific cause of death was found, "one could assume that the violence he endured, evidenced by the multiple bruises and severe rib fractures, contributed to his death." He added that these injuries could lead to "arrhythmia" or "a heart attack" without leaving tangible evidence.

Currently, Israel detains more than 9,300 "security prisoners," the vast majority of whom are Palestinians, according to the Israeli human rights organization HaMoked. Of these, more than 3,600 are held in administrative detention. These figures do not include detainees from Gaza held in separate facilities by the Israeli military.

Qadoura Fares claimed that the conditions for prisoners changed dramatically after the October 7th attack, "affecting every aspect of their lives." He alleged that prisoners were subjected to hunger, thirst, and denial of medication for chronic illnesses, with beatings becoming regular and more brutal.

"I met a detainee who lost 20 kilograms in the last three months," he said. "It feels as though the war on Gaza has also become a war on Palestinian prisoners—a form of collective punishment."

Yasser Hamdan, whose son Arafat died two days after his arrest, still doesn’t know the cause of his death.

The BBC previously documented testimonies from Palestinian prisoners about being beaten with batons, intimidated by muzzled dogs, and having their clothes, food, and blankets confiscated in the weeks following October 7th.

The Israeli Prison Service denied any mistreatment, stating that "all detainees are held according to the law, with their basic rights respected, under the supervision of skilled and professional prison staff."

The Service said the prisons entered "emergency mode" following the outbreak of war, leading to "changes in the living conditions of security detainees," including a ban on electrical appliances, cutting off electricity to cells, and reducing prisoner activities within wings.

In the West Bank village of Beit Sira, Yasser Hamdan pointed to his front door, showing signs of Israeli police kicking it in during a raid at 4:00 a.m. on October 22nd, searching for his son Arafat. After detaining Arafat, the police covered his face with a thick black cloth tightened around his neck with a rope.

"The mask smelled strong, and it was clear Arafat was struggling to breathe," Yasser said.

"I kept trying to calm him," he added. "I told him, 'It’s okay. They have nothing against you. They have nothing against us.' I kept telling him that as they restrained him outside the house. Then they took him away."

Two days later, the family received a phone call. Authorities found Arafat dead in his cell in Ofer Prison in the West Bank. The Israeli authorities did not clarify how he died. Arafat had Type 1 diabetes and occasionally experienced low blood sugar levels.

Dr. Daniel Solomon, a surgeon from Physicians for Human Rights, attended Arafat Hamdan's autopsy. He reported that the condition of the body due to prolonged refrigeration made it difficult to determine the cause of death. He also noted the absence of records showing whether Arafat had taken his diabetes medication or in what doses.

Yasser Hamdan said, "So far, we don’t know how he died. Nothing is clear." Neither Arafat's nor Abdulrahman Mari's bodies have been returned to their families, who wish to conduct their own autopsies, hold funerals, and say their final goodbyes.

"Abdulrahman was flesh of my flesh, and then he was gone in an instant," said Yasser. His home is filled with pictures of his son.

Um Mohammed showed photos of Abdulrahman on her phone, pointing to one of them: "Look at him. He was so cheerful."

She added that over time, Abdulrahman had become a leader among his group of prisoners. "He would call me while preparing breakfast for them all while they were still sleeping. He was always the most active. He could never sit still, that boy."

Breaking into tears, she pleaded, "Bring him back to me. I want to see him one last time. Just one last look."