Israel has arrested over three thousand Palestinians from the West Bank since
October 7 2023, and widely imposed administrative detention orders on them, according to local rights groups. According to the Palestinian Commission for Detainees and Ex-Prisoners' Affairs, the number of Palestinians in Israeli prisons had doubled from 5,200 prisoners before October 7 to more than 10,000 prisoners and detainees as of October 24. While the IDF stated on December 4 that 2,150 Palestinians had been arrested in the West Bank since the outbreak of the war, it reported 3,450 arrests in the West Bank as of December 6. According to
HaMoked, an Israeli NGO, 2,873 Palestinians were held in administrative detention as of December 6, an all-time high. By 16 January 2024, the Palestinian Prisoners Society reported there were a total of 8,800 Palestinians in Israeli prisons. In July of 2024, there were 21,000 prisoners in Israeli jails, outreaching the maximum capacity of the system by some 6,500. The figure did not include about 2,500 Gazans, who were mostly held in military detention facilities.
Shin Bet director
Ronen Bar warned that the facilities had become a "ticking time bomb": "The physical and mental living conditions may lead to acts of violence inside the jails and prisons, and some inmates are already planning acts of violence and revenge," Bar said in a letter to Netanyahu.
Palestinian workers from Gaza On October 23,
The Independent reported that "Palestinians with permission to work in Israel were rounded up, arrested and blindfolded before being taken to military camps" following the outbreak of hostilities. According to
Dr. Nasri Abu Jaish, Minister of Labour for the
Palestinian Authority, 4,500 workers were unaccounted for, but believed to have been detained by Israeli forces, as of that date; the
International Labour Organization estimated the number of missing workers at between 4,000 and 5,000.
Amnesty International confirmed that thousands of Gazan workers were detained
incommunicado for at least three weeks at two military detention centres in Israel.
Palestinians within Gaza Time reported on November 20, 2023 that the total number of Gazans who have been detained by Israeli forces in recent weeks remained unclear.
Haaretz reported on January 3, 2024 that 661 Gazan Palestinians were detained in Israeli jails, representing a 150% increase from the previous month; this number does not include Gazans detained at military facilities. On November 19, 200 Palestinian men from Gaza were detained by
Israel Defense Forces while attempting to evacuate with their families in a southerly direction within the Gaza Strip. The detentions came to light due to the detention of
Mosab Abu Toha among the men. According to the head of the Palestinian Prisoners' Association, 153 women have been arrested in Gaza since the outbreak of the war, including pregnant women and women detained with their babies. The
Ministry of Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs stated women from Gaza had been subjected to
torture and
abuse. On December 25, footage emerged showing hundreds of detained men and boys stripped to their underwear and held in a stadium. On 1 February 2024,
Haaretz reported that Israel had detained an 82-year-old grandmother with Alzheimers for two months as an "unlawful combatant" and only released her after an appeal. On 6 February, dozens were arrested in
Gaza City, including children. On 9 February, the
Council on American-Islamic Relations demanded the release of two U.S. citizen brothers detained in Gaza, leading National Security Council spokesman John Kirby to state the US would speak to Israel.
Healthcare workers On 15 November 2023, reports emerged alleging detentions by Israeli forces at
Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza.
China Daily, a Chinese state-run media outlet, reported on similar statements by the hospital's director, Mohammed Abu Salmiya, who referred to "dozens" of detentions at the hospital. On 23 November, Abu Salmiya was himself arrested by Israeli forces, along with other medics. As of 4 December 2023, the fate of Abu Salmiya remained unknown; Israeli authorities declined to answer questions by
The Jerusalem Post, but "hinted" that he remained in
Shin Bet custody. He had not been charged with an offence. On December 3, the
Gaza Health Ministry stated that 34 medics in Gaza had been detained by Israel. On 12 December 2023, the
World Health Organization reported on the mass detentions of medical staff.
Adnan al-Bursh, the head of orthopedics at al-Shifa was arrested with two nurses. On December 13, the British-organization
Medical Aid for Palestinians stated 70 medics at the Kamal Adwan Hospital had been detained by the IDF. On December 19, the
Gaza Health Ministry stated that Israel was holding 93 healthcare workers "in inhumane conditions, under interrogation [and] under torture, starvation and extreme cold." On 28 January 2024, the head of head of orthopedic surgery at
Nasser Hospital was arrested. One paramedic arrested in
Jabalia stated he and his colleagues were beaten in their sensitive areas, heads, and backs, and had rocks thrown at them. A group of ten healthcare workers described being
tortured in detention. A doctor arrested while working at Ahli Arab Hospital in December 2023 described being shackled and blindfolded. On 5 February 2024, the general manager and administrative director of al-Amal Hospital were arrested. On 6 February, two medical volunteers were arrested while evacuating from the al-Amal Hospital. Several medical workers were arrested at al-Amal on 9 February. Eight more al-Amal hospital were arrested on 10 February. On 19 February, the Red Crescent stated that twelve of its medics were continuing to be detained two weeks after Israel's raid on Al-Amal Hospital. Citing the Health Ministry, UNOCHA reported on 20 February that 70 medical personnel had been arrested following the
Nasser Hospital siege. On 3 March 2024, the Palestinian Red Crescent stated 14 of its staff members were detained, with their status or whereabouts unknown. One staff member was released on 17 March after spending 36 days in detention. Seven more staff were released on 28 March after being held for 47 days. In September 2024, a
Palestinian Medical Relief Society paramedic stated that during his arrest, he was stripped naked, zip-tied, blindfolded, and that Israeli soldiers put an assault rifle against his head, doused him in gasoline, and threatened to set him on fire. On 3 May 2024, it was announced that Dr. Adnan Al-Bursh had died on 19 April 2024 while in Israeli captivity. Further details on his cause of death have not yet been given, but dozens of fellow detainees attest to the systematic torture of the doctor, and say it led to his death.
December 7 mass detention On December 7, widely-circulated video and images showed dozens of Palestinian men and boys in Northern Gaza blindfolded, stripped partially naked, and kneeling on the ground, guarded by Israeli soldiers.
Haaretz reported that approximately 10-15% of the men were affiliated with armed groups according to security officials, who stated that this was "not a mass surrender of entire units of Hamas". Several of the detainees are civilians with no known affiliation with any armed group, including a journalist. In a statement on December 7, the
Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor (a Geneva-based NGO) referred to "reports that Israeli forces launched random and arbitrary arrest campaigns against displaced people, including doctors, academics, journalists, and elderly men" sheltering in
UNRWA schools. IDF spokesperson Rear Admiral
Daniel Hagari stated: "We arrest everyone" for interrogation. However
The New York Times reported that, according to family members and local rights groups, some of the men had not been seen since their detention. Men and boys released on December 9 reported the IDF had beaten them, given them only minimal water, prevented them from using the toilet, and forced them to sleep on raw rice. One fourteen-year-old boy stated he was stripped and beaten, and that female Israeli soldiers had spat on him and the other detainees.
Al-Araby Al-Jadeed reporter Diaa al-Kahlout, who was arrested during the 7 December mass arrest, was released on 9 January. Al-Kahlout stated, "We were sitting in a situation of torture".
December 10 mass detention The Israeli media outlet
Ynet reported on a mass detention which it described as the surrender of dozens of suspected Hamas militants to Israeli forces in
Jabaliya on December 10. Following their arrest, the men were stripped naked, blindfolded, handcuffed, and detained.
March 6 mass detention On 6 March, Israeli forces operating in
Khan Younis stated they had conducted sweeping raids in a residential tower and arrested some 250 people. Israel stated these individuals were "operatives" and that they had additionally seized weapons during the raid.
Siege of Jabalia During the
Siege of Jabalia, Israel conducted mass arrests of Palestinian men.
Palestinians in the West Bank and East Jerusalem The International Committee of the Red Cross expressed "high concern" regarding "the sharp increase in [the] number of arrests" in the occupied West Bank since October 7. Amnesty International has also criticized the "spike in arbitrary arrests" of Palestinians since October 7. On October 17, Al Jazeera reported that nearly 700 people had been arrested in the West Bank and
occupied East Jerusalem since the outbreak of the war. The
Associated Press placed the number at 2,280 on November 8, citing the Palestinian Prisoners Society; on November 10,
The Nation reported that the number was "at least 2,200". By November 8, the number of Palestinians held without charge or trial had increased from 1,319 to 2,070 since October 7, according to HaMoked. An estimated 3,000 were being held under
administrative detention. Detainees arrested in
Deir Abu Mash'al, described the experience of being arrested by Israeli forces, stating that soldiers went door to door arresting people, blindfolding them, tying their hands, and taking them to an open building for interrogation. Family members of detainees stated the Israeli army was unjustly arresting and interrogating people. Two directors and an employee from
The Freedom Theatre were arrested by the IDF, with one stating, "They treated us like animals. They are trying to hurt us in anyway they can." One director, Mostafa Sheta, remained in custody and was believed to be held in the
Megiddo military prison in northern Israel. The
Royal Court Theatre responded to the reports by demanding for the release of the men. On 22 February 2024, a spokesperson for
Birzeit University stated that Israeli forces had detained the undergraduate student council president, with more than sixty students arrested since 7 October. In March 2024, verified footage showed Israeli soldiers arresting a group of Palestinians, tying them up with rope, and dragging them. In July 2024,
PEN International condemned the detention of the president of PEN Palestine
Hanan Awwad in East Jerusalem. In August 2024, Palestinian families in the West Bank reported hundreds of people were missing, with the Israeli military giving conflicting reports of their condition and whereabouts. After Palestinian-American teenager Mohammed Ibrahim was abducted from his family's West Bank home and imprisoned at Ofer prison, a coalition of 100 human and civil rights groups petitioned US Secretary of State Marco Rubio to secure his release.
Arab–Israelis CNN reported that dozens of Palestinian residents and citizens were arrested for "expressions of solidarity" with the civilian population of Gaza, sharing
Quran verses, or expressing "any support for the Palestinian people".
Haaretz described the widespread targeting of
Arab Israelis by Israeli security forces. Rights groups have criticized what they describe as Israel's crackdown on internal dissent. The
Israel Police announced that since the beginning of the war, as of October 25, they have detained 110 individuals for allegedly promoting violence and terrorism, primarily through social medial; of these, CNN reported that "only 17 resulted in indictments. Most people were released without further charges, usually after a few days." Referring to "hundreds" of interrogations,
El País reported on November 11 that Israel increasingly treats its Arab minority as a "potential
fifth column". As of November 30, 270 Arab–Israelis had been arrested, according to
Adalah (an Israeli NGO). == Status of detainees ==