Fact Sheet on Detainees and Prisoners in Israeli Occupation Prisons

JAN 7 2025

Total Number of Detainees

10,300 is the total number of Palestinian detainees in Israeli prisons as of December 16, 2024. This figure does not include thousands of detainees from Gaza who are held in military camps under conditions of enforced disappearance, according to the Center for the Defense of the Individual (HaMoked).

Meanwhile, the number of arrests in the West Bank since October 7, 2024, has reached 12,100 as of December 16, 2024, according to the Palestinian Prisoners’ Club.

The Israeli Prison Service and the Ministry of National Security announced in early April 2024 that the «detention capacity for Palestinian detainees in Israeli prisons is 14,500, while the actual number of detainees exceeds 21,000.»

6,000 Palestinians have been arrested by the Israeli army from the West Bank since the start of the war.

Spokesperson for the Israeli Occupation Army, December 16, 2024

Detained Prisoners

3,376 The number of administrative detainees (HaMoked, 16-12-2024).

Among them are 25 female administrative detainees, including 4 journalists, one of whom is a nursing mother, a lawyer, at least 41 children, and 24 journalists (Palestinian Prisoners› Club).

10,000 The number of administrative detention cases issued after October 7, including new orders and renewals, some of which targeted children and women (Palestinian Prisoners› Club, as of 16-12-2024).

Detained Prisoners

2,934

Prisoners are detained awaiting trial

 (HaMoked Center for the Defense of the Individual) as of December 16, 2024.

Sentenced Prisoners

2,025

Sentenced prisoners

 (HaMoked Center for the Defense of the Individual) as of December 16, 2024.

Forcibly Disappeared Detainees

3,600

Forcibly disappeared detainees 

(Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor) as of September 1, 2024.

Unlawful Combatants

1,886

The number of detainees from Gaza classified by the occupation as «unlawful combatants» (HaMoked Center for the Defense of the Individual) as of Jan 7, 2024.

The Al-Mezan Center for Human Rights estimated their number at 2,350 detainees in a press statement issued on September 3, 2024.

Child Detainees

300

Child detainees under the age of 18.

 (Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association, 7-1-2025).

Among them are 94 children held in Megiddo Prison, including 24 child detainees from Gaza, and 40 children under administrative detention.

The number of child arrest cases in the West Bank after October 7 has reached approximately 760 (Palestinian Prisoners› Club, 7-1-2025).

Life Sentences

583

Prisoners have been sentenced to life imprisonment (99 years).

The longest sentence is held by prisoner Abdullah Barghouti, who has been sentenced to 67 life terms, followed by prisoner Ibrahim Hamed, sentenced to 54 life terms.

(Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association, 14-12-2024)

Veteran Prisoners

627

Prisoners have been continuously detained for over 20 years.

40

Prisoners have been continuously detained for over 25 years.

(Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association, 14-12-2024)

Female Prisoners

89

Female prisoners are currently held in Israeli occupation prisons.

 (Palestinian Prisoners’ Club,  7-1-2025).

Among them, 4 female prisoners from Gaza.

22 female administrative detainees.

2 minors among the female prisoners.

30 mothers, including mothers of martyrs, wives of prisoners, sisters of 

martyrs, sisters of prisoners, and former detainees.

18 students, following the recent release of four students, the latest being 

Shahd Oweida, a student at Birzeit University.

5 journalists among the female prisoners.

2 lawyers among the detainees.

These figures do not include all female prisoners from Gaza. The available data only accounts for those held in Damon Prison, while it is likely that other female detainees from Gaza are held in other prisons and camps under conditions of enforced disappearance, similar to hundreds of other detainees from Gaza.

Since October 7, 2023, there have been approximately 450 arrests of women from the West Bank, Jerusalem, and territories occupied in 1948. This figure includes those who were arrested, some of whom remain detained while others were released.

The occupation authorities continue to isolate Khalida Jarrar, a legal activist and administrative detainee, in solitary confinement in Neve Tirtza Prison.

Pre-Oslo Prisoners

21

Palestinian prisoners have been continuously detained since before the signing of the Oslo Accords (Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association, 14-12-2024).

The longest-serving among them is Mohammad Al-Tous from the town of Al-Jaba›a, who has been imprisoned since 1985.

In addition to these long-serving prisoners, there are 11 prisoners who were arrested before the signing of the Oslo Accords, released as part of the «Wafa al-Ahrar» (Gilad Shalit) prisoner exchange deal in 2011, and then re-arrested in 2014. They are among dozens of former prisoners who were rearrested at that time.

Notable among them is Nail Barghouti, a prominent leader who holds the record for the longest cumulative detention in the history of the Palestinian prisoners› movement, with over 44 years spent in captivity across two separate periods.

Shalit Deal Prisoners

47

Prisoners were re-arrested by the occupation after being released as part of the «Wafa al-Ahrar» (Shalit Deal) prisoner exchange.

According to human rights sources, after October 7, 2023, many former prisoners from the West Bank who had been released in the «Wafa al-Ahrar» deal and were residing in Gaza were arrested. In many cases, they were targeted, bombed, or even executed on the ground.

Sick Prisoners

700

Sick prisoners are currently held in Israeli prisons.

Among them is Osama Amin Adais (34 years old) from Hebron, who is facing a concerning health condition. He underwent an amputation above the knee of his left leg after being shot by Israeli forces during his arrest on September 9, 2024. Additionally, he sustained another injury in his abdomen.

Withheld Bodies

552

The number of Palestinian bodies withheld by the Israeli occupation in Cemeteries of Numbers, refrigerators, and the Sdei Taiman military camp. These include men, women, children, and elderly individuals, as well as former prisoners. This figure represents more than half of the withheld martyrs since 2015. Notably, it does not include the bodies of martyrs from Gaza.

The number of withheld bodies since the beginning of the war stands at 149, which also constitutes more than half of the withheld martyrs since 2015. This figure does not account for the martyrs from Gaza, whose withheld bodies are estimated to number in the hundreds.

The only specific data regarding the withheld bodies of Gaza martyrs emerged in July 2024, when the Israeli newspaper Haaretz revealed that the Israeli occupation holds approximately 1,500 Palestinian bodies in refrigerated containers within the Sdei Taiman military base. These bodies are cataloged by numbers instead of names. The report noted that many of the bodies had reached advanced stages of decomposition, with some missing limbs and others rendered unrecognizable.

Among the withheld bodies are 22 prisoners who were martyred since the beginning of the ongoing war of annihilation. These are part of the 33 prisoners whose bodies remain withheld by the occupation, and whose identities have been officially announced.

(National Campaign to Recover the Martyrs' Bodies, August 30, 2024)

Martyr Prisoners

291

The total number of martyr prisoners from the Palestinian prisoners› movement since 1967, according to the Palestinian Prisoners› Club ( 7-1-2025).

Breakdown of Martyr Prisoners:

237 prisoners were martyred before October 7, 2023, including:

54 prisoners martyred after October 7, 2023.

Of these, 47 martyr prisoners› bodies are still withheld by the Israeli occupation.

Additionally, dozens of detainees from Gaza died in prisons and military camps, with the occupation neither revealing their identities nor the circumstances of their deaths. Others were subjected to field executions.

58 martyr prisoners whose identities have been announced are still withheld, including the 47 prisoners martyred since the start of the war of extermination (Palestinian Prisoners› Club, 20-12-2024).

Deaths in Military Detention Centers:

An investigative report by the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, published on March 7, 2024, revealed that 27 Palestinian prisoners from Gaza died in Israeli military detention centers since the beginning of the war. On June 1, 2024, the Israeli army officially announced the deaths of 36 Palestinian prisoners from Gaza in detention camps after October 7.

Causes of Death Among Martyr Prisoners (1967–2024):

81 prisoners were intentionally killed after their arrest.

85 prisoners died due to deliberate medical negligence.

88 prisoners died as a result of torture.

7 prisoners were directly shot with live ammunition.

Detained Parliamentarians

17

Detained parliamentarians.

(Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association, 7-1-2025)

  Deaths by Period of Detention (1967–2024):

1967–1977: 45 martyr prisoners.

1977–1986: 26 martyr prisoners.

1987–1997: 50 martyr prisoners.

1998–2008: 75 martyr prisoners.

2009–2020: 30 martyr prisoners.

June 2021–October 2023:  11 martyr prisoners.

October 2023–December 2024: 54 martyr prisoners

 (Commission of Detainees› Affairs).

Detained Parliamentarians

17

Detained parliamentarians.

(Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association, 7-1-2025)

Detained Journalists

58

Journalists are currently detained, including 6 female journalists and 31 journalists from Gaza, of whom 16 are under administrative detention (Palestinian Prisoners’ Club, October 1).

Since October 7, 2023, 132 journalists have been arrested, with some later released (Palestinian Prisoners’ Club).

Gaza Detainees

15,000

The total number of arrest cases from Gaza, with approximately 4,000 detainees still held in known and unknown prisons and detention centers.

(Qaddoura Fares, Head of the Commission of Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs, 19-12-2024).

2,650

Detainees, including 12 children and 2 women. Among the total number, approximately 300 detainees are undergoing trials, while 2,350 are classified as unlawful combatants.

(Al-Mezan Center for Human Rights, 3-9-2024).