By SCM International Desk I Oct. 15, 2026
JERUSALEM – Israeli security forces have detained more than 2,000 Palestinian children since the outbreak of the war in October 2023, with at least 350 remaining in Israeli custody under severe conditions including torture, starvation, and medical neglect, a leading Palestinian prisoners’ rights advocacy organization said.
In a report released by the Palestinian Prisoners’ Club, human rights advocates warned that the recorded numbers reflect only a partial tally of Palestinian minors taken into custody. The figures largely exclude children detained in the Gaza Strip, where widespread enforced disappearances have left thousands of families without information regarding the status, location, or safety of their missing relatives.
The report highlighted the case of Walid Khaled Ahmad, a Palestinian child who died in Megiddo Prison in northern Israel in March 2025. Medical evidence and testimonies gathered by legal groups indicated that the youth died amid extreme physical abuse, severe malnutrition, and acute dehydration while held in solitary confinement.
”The systemic abuse, deliberate starvation, and denial of essential medical care facing child detainees reflect a systematic collapse of international legal protections for minors in conflict zones,” the Palestinian Prisoners’ Club said in a statement accompanying the data.
Human rights organizations, including Defense for Children International–Palestine (DCIP) and the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, have repeatedly called attention to the deteriorating conditions inside Israeli military facilities and detention centers since late 2023.
Reports from former detainees and legal monitors have detailed routine physical assaults, prolonged solitary confinement, sleep deprivation, and restricted access to legal representation or family visits.
Israel’s military and prison authorities have consistently maintained that all detentions are carried out in accordance with security protocols and military law, which permits the administrative detention of individuals suspected of security violations without formal charges or trial.
However, international law experts and international bodies emphasize that under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, detention of minors must be used strictly as a measure of last resort and for the shortest possible period.
As operations in the region continue, rights monitors urge international observers and international legal bodies to inspect detention facilities and establish accountability mechanisms for human rights violations involving underage detainees.
