Israel has confirmed the death of a Palestinian detainee from the Gaza Strip nearly two years after he is believed to have died in Israeli custody. The disclosure has renewed scrutiny of Israel’s detention system, particularly the fate of thousands of Palestinians arrested during the war in Gaza and held without formal charges, trial or timely contact with their families.
The Palestinian Commission of Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs reported that the Israeli authorities confirmed the death of Ihab Mohammad Abdul Qader Diab, a 36-year-old Palestinian from Gaza. Diab, according to the commission, was detained on 12 December 2023, soon after the Israeli invasion of Gaza after the attacks by Hamas on 7 October.
It appears from the reports of the Palestinian commission that Diab’s death was confirmed by the Israeli Prison Service only recently. According to Israeli authorities, Diab’s death was due to a health condition, but the Palestinian commission stated that Diab apparently died on 18 September 2024—more than one year earlier than the confirmation by the Israelis. The long delay in issuing the notification is what causes controversy. There are several processes that need to be followed in case of death in custody. It should be followed promptly with notifications to the next-of-kin, a cause of death certification, and repatriation of the body/ remains.
The commission said Diab’s family rejected the Israeli explanation. Relatives reportedly maintained that he had been in good health at the time of his arrest and had no known illness that would explain his death. The Israeli account, as reported by the Palestinian commission, was that Diab died because of “a health condition.” Israeli prison authorities have not, in the publicly available accounts, provided a detailed medical report, autopsy findings or a full explanation for why the death was confirmed so long after the suspected date of death.
Death toll reaches 328
The death of Diab increased the number of Palestinians identified by the Palestinian commission as having died in Israeli jails and detention centers since 1967 to 328. Out of the number mentioned above, 91 deaths have been recorded since 7 October 2023 and 53 detainees have been from Gaza. The figures above show how the deaths were concentrated during the ongoing war. 91 deaths that have been recorded since 7 October 2023 account for about 28% of all deaths of Palestinians in the custody of Israel since 1967 according to the data collected by the commission.
The detainees from Gaza have accounted for about 58% of the deaths recorded since the beginning of the war. The numbers mentioned above are not an entire international database of all deaths in the custody of the Israelis. They only form the statistics gathered by the Palestinian commission and therefore the numbers might be different from those published by the UN, Israeli authorities and the international and Israeli rights groups.
Nevertheless, the figures point to an acute deterioration in detention conditions since the beginning of the Gaza war. They also demonstrate the difficulty faced by families and monitoring organizations in establishing whether a detainee remains alive, where he or she is being held and whether medical care has been provided.
A wider system of secrecy
Diab’s delayed confirmation fits into a broader pattern alleged by Palestinian institutions and international rights organizations: the concealment or delayed disclosure of information about Palestinians detained during Israel’s military operations in Gaza. Thousands of people were arrested during Israeli ground operations, raids on hospitals and shelters, the evacuation of residential areas and military searches at checkpoints. Many were separated from their families and transferred out of Gaza. Some were reportedly held in military detention camps before being moved to prisons or released without public records explaining the basis for their arrest.
This lack of information has led to what Palestinian prisoner groups have termed “enforced disappearance.” Family members often do not know much about where their relatives were detained or their legal status, charges, health condition, place of detention, or even when they will be released. International Committee of the Red Cross has been unable to visit and monitor independently many Palestinian detainees in Israel’s custody since the beginning of the war. The restrictions on family members’ access and lawyers’ access have further limited the independent oversight of Israeli authorities.
The UN Human Rights Office has reported that Israeli authorities have been detaining thousands of Palestinians in incommunicado detention since October 2023. They have noted allegations of beatings, torture, sexual violence, hunger, poor sanitation, denial of healthcare, and other ill-treatment. These circumstances are particularly relevant to detainees in Gaza who are detained not under the ordinary criminal code but under the military or security regulations. Detention under these circumstances does not involve the usual indictment.
Detention without charge or trial
The following are the means used by Israel in detaining Palestinians. One of them is that of administrative detention. Under this mechanism, a person can be kept in detention without trial or any charge made against him based on information classified by the government as pertaining to security threats. These orders may be renewed again and again. Israel has also been known to use the Incarceration of Unlawful Combatants Law, especially in cases involving Palestinians coming from the Gaza strip. According to this law, it is possible for Israel to keep a person in detention if he has been involved in hostile acts or poses any security threat. This is done without charging him with an offense under the normal criminal procedure laws. This is necessitated by the fact that Hamas uses violence against civilians.
The Israeli military has stated that people who were not found to be involved in terrorist activity were not classified as unlawful combatants and were released. Israel also says administrative detention is used only where security officials have credible information indicating that an individual presents a concrete danger.
Human-rights organizations dispute the breadth and application of these powers. They argue that indefinite or prolonged detention without charge undermines due-process guarantees, particularly when detainees cannot challenge the evidence against them, meet legal representatives or communicate with relatives.
The issue is not simply whether Israel has a legitimate security interest. States may detain people in armed conflict under certain circumstances, but international humanitarian and human-rights law still requires humane treatment, medical care, independent oversight and safeguards against arbitrary detention.
Conflicting accounts over deaths
The reasons behind the deaths of the Palestinians who have been detained since October 2023 have been contentious. The Palestinian government and various human rights organizations claim that most of the deaths were caused by torture, physical attack, starvation, neglect of treatment, poor detention facilities, and deliberate deprivation. Israel has always denied any claims that its detention process involves systematic torture of its detainees. Various officials of Israel have often maintained that detainees are always treated according to law and that there are always investigations into any allegations of abuse.
In the face of investigation by the UN Committee against Torture, Israel’s Ambassador, Daniel Meron, denied claims of systematic abuse and described some of the claims as “disinformation.” He insisted that Israel is still committed to its legal obligations despite the security threats posed by Hamas. The Palestinian officials, on the other hand, maintain that the frequency of such claims points to a systemic issue as opposed to isolated incidences of abuse.
In Diab’s case, the competing narratives remain unresolved. Israel has cited a health condition. His family says he was healthy when detained. Palestinian officials suspect torture or neglect. Without an independent autopsy, medical records and a transparent investigation, the public cannot determine which explanation is supported by evidence.
UN findings on detention abuse
According to the UN Human Rights Office, at least 75 Palestinians died in the Israeli detention from 7th October 2023 through 31st August 2025. Among the deaths, there was one 17 years old child, 49 individuals from Gaza, 24 individuals from the West Bank, and two Palestinian citizens of Israel. There was another case of death of 19 detainees, but with little information provided by the Israeli authority about their identity. This is important because the death of 75 individuals is considered as a minimum number of individuals that might have died in Israeli custody.
Among the cases reviewed by the UN:
- At least 22 detainees had pre-existing medical conditions requiring care.
- In at least 12 cases, testimonies or autopsy information pointed to beatings or torture.
- Allegations included waterboarding, stress positions, repeated assaults and sexual violence.
- Detainees reportedly faced inadequate food, sanitation and medical treatment.
- Access by lawyers, families and the International Committee of the Red Cross was restricted.
According to the UN, while the Israeli authorities have stated that they will investigate the deaths, very little information has been made public about the results of those investigations. In addition, the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory has found evidence of widespread physical and psychological mistreatment of Palestinian detainees, including children.
Such actions could be considered to amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity where the mistreatment includes torture, sexual violence, killing or any other serious violation. The commission’s findings do not amount to legal proof of the individual criminal responsibility of the guards, commanding officers, or political leaders. However, such findings provide sufficient justification for demands for investigation.
Why the delay matters
In addition to the pain that has been felt by Diab’s family as a result of the almost two-year delay in declaring him dead, it also has implications for the investigation of the cause of death, locating any witnesses, retaining any medical evidence as well as finding out who was accountable for the way he was treated. The reason why the detainees die and no one informs their families could mean that they will have no choice but to be silent about the detention, seek help or even get a separate examination. The case also illustrates the dangers of keeping individuals in military prisons as opposed to regular prisons.
For Palestinian families, the disclosure of Diab’s death may provide a measure of certainty, but it also raises new questions. Why was the death not communicated earlier? Where was he held? What treatment did he receive? Was an autopsy conducted? Who recorded the death? Was his body retained, transferred or buried? And did Israeli authorities investigate the case before confirming it? Those questions remain unanswered in the publicly available information.
What the figures do—and do not—show
The figure of 328 Palestinians killed since 1967 is indicative of the history of killings in Israeli prisons and detention centers. The figure of 91 Palestinians killed since October 2023 indicates that the present period has seen a substantial rise in the number, but statistics alone will not prove the cause of each death. It would be incorrect to say that all of the reported deaths are due to torture. There might be cases where people have died of diseases, injuries before imprisonment or any other reason.
On the other hand, it would be equally incorrect to assume that all of the cases are medical without access to reports and independent investigations. The most valid conclusion which can be drawn on the basis of evidence is that the current system of detention lacks transparency and accountability.
Palestinian organizations have recorded a higher and continually rising death toll. Israel denies systematic mistreatment and says its detention policies are driven by security requirements. The discrepancy between these positions can be resolved only through independent monitoring, full disclosure of detainee identities and locations, access to medical and prison records, and credible investigations into each death.
An unresolved accountability test
The case of Ihab Diab has now emerged as a litmus test for whether the Israeli government will give transparent answers on the detention of Palestinians during the Gaza war. Statistics from the Palestinian committee of 328 deaths among Palestinians since 1967, which include 91 since October 2023 and 53 from Gaza, indicate that the problem goes beyond one prison, one refugee camp, or one medical dispute. The security concerns of the Israeli government are justified, but this does not exempt it from its responsibilities towards detainees.