Israel’s Prison System Turned into Network of Torture Camps, B’Tselem Says

Ramallah, MINA – Israeli prison and detention facilities have been transformed into a network of camps dedicated to the systematic abuse of inmates, according to a new report by the Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories, B’Tselem, as cited by Wafa.

In its January 2026 report titled Living Hell: The Israeli Prison System as a Network of Torture Camps, B’Tselem said Israeli prisons now function as spaces where inmates are subjected to deliberate, severe, and continuous pain and suffering as a matter of official policy.

Based on ongoing monitoring and documentation, the rights group said that from the start of Israel’s war in October 2023 until early January 2026, at least 84 Palestinian prisoners and detainees, including one minor, whose identities are known, died in Israeli prisons or detention centers.

Other human rights organizations and media reports have put the death toll at no fewer than 94, including detainees whose identities remain unknown. As of August 2025, at least six Palestinians had died during interrogations by Israel’s Shin Bet security service.

Citing data from the Israeli Prison Service, B’Tselem reported that 10,863 Palestinian detainees were being held in Israeli prisons and detention facilities. This figure includes 7,425 residents of the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, 2,931 residents of the Gaza Strip, and 507 Palestinian citizens of Israel. Among them are 3,521 administrative detainees held without trial, 2,623 detainees classified as “unlawful combatants” from Gaza, 3,227 security detainees awaiting sentencing, and 1,492 prisoners serving sentences. The detainee population also includes 350 minors and 48 women.

The report documented widespread and organized violence against Palestinian detainees, including beatings, electric shocks, the use of tear gas and stun grenades, burning with cigarettes or boiling liquids, firing rubber-coated metal bullets, and the use of attack dogs.

B’Tselem also detailed forms of sexual violence, ranging from threats and forced stripping to physical sexual assault. The report cited beatings to the genitals causing severe injuries, the use of dogs, and forced anal penetration with various objects.

The organization said the denial of medical treatment has become a method of torture in itself, leading to irreversible damage such as amputations, loss of hearing or eyesight, and deaths.

It highlighted the spread of scabies due to inadequate treatment and overcrowded conditions. According to autopsy findings from 10 Palestinians who died in custody since October 2023, denial of medical care was documented in six cases.

Living conditions inside Israeli prisons were described as inhuman, marked by extreme overcrowding, prolonged shackling, starvation, poor-quality food, and the denial of basic hygiene, including access to showers, clean clothing, and drinking water.

The report added that since October 2023, family visits have been completely suspended, and representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross have been denied access to detainees. Prison authorities have also imposed restrictions on meetings between prisoners and their lawyers, often citing alleged security concerns.

B’Tselem concluded that the findings point to a systemic and institutionalized policy of torture and abuse of Palestinian prisoners, supported by Israel’s political, judicial, and prison systems.[]

Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)