More than 9,600 Palestinians held in Israeli jails: Rights group

Some 3,379 Palestinians are held without trial or charge under Israel’s administrative detention policy and 1,402 are classified as unlawful combatant, Israeli human rights group HaMoked said, citing figures by the Israeli Prison Service.

The term “unlawful combatants” is used by Israel to describe Palestinians from the Gaza Strip who have been detained during its ongoing offensive on the enclave since Oct. 7, 2023.

“Israel’s treatment of security inmates violates their rights to equality, dignity, family life, education, and more, contravenes international law,” HaMoked added.

It said holding detainees from the occupied Palestinian territories inside Israel “constitutes a blatant violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention” and “violates basic human rights enshrined, inter alia, in Israeli law.”

Israel, flouting a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire, has faced international condemnation amid its continued brutal offensive on Gaza since an Oct. 7, 2023 attack by the Palestinian group Hamas.

At least 37,900 Palestinians have since been killed, mostly women and children, and over 87,000 others injured, according to local health authorities.

Over eight months into the Israeli war, vast tracts of Gaza lie in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water and medicine.

Human rights organizations have warned that thousands of people in the besieged enclave are facing the risk of famine amid ongoing Israeli devastating onslaught.